Could VM/LG be taking over Vodafone?
 

Chad posted this link elsewhere regarding Vodafone having to pay penalties for abandoning it's UK Pay TV venture:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/...-tv-ambitions/

What I found interesting was right at the end...

Re: Could VM/LG be taking over Vodafone?
 

l doubt it is the answer to that one..

Re: Could VM/LG be taking over Vodafone?
 

Virgin just signed a long contract with EE for virgin mobile, looks like that ship has sailed

Re: Could VM/LG be taking over Vodafone?
 

It's interesting and unusual that the forthcoming results are being released on a Sunday, when markets are closed. It makes me wonder whether announcement of some kind will be made (not necessarily Vodafone).

Re: Could VM/LG be taking over Vodafone?
 

Joint venture maybe. I can forsee Vodafone becoming essentially a reseller of Virgin services and maybe have a merger later, way down the line.

Re: Could VM/LG be taking over Vodafone?
 

Maybe the Ziggo 50/50 model as per the Netherlands but I don't know if the merged company would be forced to sell off a lot of capacity in a distressed sale by Ofcom.

Re: Could VM/LG be taking over Vodafone?
 

As in mobile capacity? Can't see that as Virgin don't own any spectrum in the UK. It's a natural fit from that perspective. Not sure about dark fibre etc though. Presumably the EU would have something to say about a full-blown Vodafone and LG merger though.

QUOTE=Kushan;35896540]Joint venture maybe. I can forsee Vodafone becoming essentially a reseller of Virgin services and maybe have a merger later, way down the line.[/QUOTE]

Vodafone reselling is an interesting concept - do you think they would resell Virgin packages, or their own branded versions? I'm wondering which company that would be more beneficial to?

Re: Could VM/LG be taking over Vodafone?
 

I don't think it would be an EU matter, more an Ofcom one as only the UK is affected. The duplication wouldn't be in mobile (assuming market share is not an issue which I doubt) but in fibre infrastructure, backhaul for mobile providers etc.
I could see a Ziggo-type model in the UK with VM TV/broadband being cross-sold to Vodafone mobile customers whilst both brands are retained. EE could remain VM's mobile carrier until the contract expires.

Re: Could VM/LG be taking over Vodafone?
 

Lets also not forget that there's no reason any contract with EE couldn't have clauses for the event of a merger with a competitor for either company. Still, as you say, I don't imagine Virgin would be in any rush to move over to Vodafone's mobile signal if they did merge.

Re: Could VM/LG be taking over Vodafone?
 

This has come up many times, either VM buying Vodafone or the other way round. Doubt it will happen.

I am gutted that they cancelled the TV service. It was pretty interesting and worked well. It was literally weeks away from launching as well.

Re: Could VM/LG be taking over Vodafone?
 

Did Vodafone say why it was cancelled? I always thought they'd be better off buying TalkTalk, using that as a Plusnet competitor and developing their own higher grade TV offering.

Re: Could VM/LG be taking over Vodafone?
 

Do we know which has the better coverage? This may well be a factor too.

If it does happen, you could end up working for VM again by default without moving an inch!

I does seem odd to get so far down the line and pull the plug :confused:

Re: Could VM/LG be taking over Vodafone?
 

Wouldn't Talk Talk have been a decent acquisition for Vodafone it would have got a far larger Broadband subscriber base over night with which it could sell its mobile service and TV offering.

Re: Could VM/LG be taking over Vodafone?
 

No

Re: Could VM/LG be taking over Vodafone?
 

Great post.