Telefónica, unions ink voluntary layoff deal; Portugal approves Cellnex-MEO deal

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TOP NEWS IN TMT

* Telefónica SA inked an agreement with trade unions in Spain on the voluntary departure of about 2,700 staff, at a cost of about €1.50 billion before taxes, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The telco said the plan will save over €230 million in direct expenses yearly, starting 2023.

* Cellnex Telecom SA unit CLNX Portugal secured approval from the Portuguese competition regulator to acquire MEO assets from Altice Portugal SA, Telecompaper reported.

➤ Capital raises from infotech sector continue to decline

Publicly traded information technology companies in the U.S., Canada and Bermuda raised about $13.26 billion through capital offerings in November, down from $15.25 billion in October.

➤ E-commerce firms eyeing deals to bolster digital reach, supply chain in 2022

Amazon.com Inc., Walmart Inc. and Target Corp. are poised to spend billions of dollars on efforts to add to their online offerings and technical capabilities.

TECHNOLOGY

* Chip developer ASML Holding NV's CEO Peter Wennink called for EU investments in semiconductor manufacturing and said the concerns in the bloc over continued granting of subsidies to the sector are unfounded, De Telegraaf reported.

* Telefónica's digital business unit, Telefónica Tech, and Spanish electronic meter maker Contazara announced the rollout of 130,000 public utility smart meters as part of Canal de Isabel II's plan to roll out 650,000 water meters with narrowband internet of things communication in the next three years.

* The Dutch government's Digital Trust Center will issue subsidies to six projects to strengthen the cyber resilience of businesses in the Netherlands. Subsidized projects include the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure and the National Anti-DDoS Coalition.

* Nordic Capital Ab exited its investment in Vizrt Group AS, a developer of visual storytelling tools for content creators. The former will instead back Vizrt's growth strategy via a new Nordic Capital-led consortium comprising a secondary acquisition vehicle and other Nordic Capital investment vehicles.

INTERNET & OTT

* German broadband cable network operator Tele Columbus AG's Pyur brand is taking over the operations of the new fiber-optic network in Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, as part of its network expansion plans, according to Telecompaper.

MEDIA

* Finnish game developer Remedy Entertainment Oyj inked a global development, license and distribution deal with Tencent Holdings Ltd. for a cooperative multiplayer game codenamed Vanguard. The deal also granted Tencent a global license to develop and publish a mobile version of the game.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

* Altice Europe's Altice Portugal SA entered into a revised collective labor agreement with trade union associations over several issues coming into force Jan. 1, 2022, Telecompaper reported. The issues include a €15 wage increase monthly for all active employees, a €760 minimum guaranteed salary and maintenance of health care plans.

* European telcos are gearing up for a wave of acquisitions in 2022 due to their undervaluation, which is attracting more private investors, Les Echos reported.

* Veon Ltd. named Axiata Group Bhd. executive Mohammad Khairil Abdullah as CEO of VEON Ventures, effective March 1, 2022.

* Funds managed by Nationale-Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne SA increased their stake in Polish telco Cyfrowy Polsat SA to over 5% of the total number of votes at general meetings, according to Telecompaper.

* Deutsche Telekom AG is now providing voice transmission with 5G, with the technology already functional in the telco's 5G test area in Merseburg in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

* German telco 1&1 AG will allow EU roaming services for its customers in the U.K. until the end of 2021, Telecompaper reported, citing Teltarif.de.

* Polish telco P4 Sp. z o.o., doing business as Play, switched off its national roaming service on T-Mobile Polska SA's network on Dec. 28 as Play has no plans to extend their national roaming deal, according to Telecompaper, citing Telepolis.pl.

* Montenegro raised €7.08 million from the mobile spectrum auction of the 900 MHz, 1.8 GHz, 2 GHz and 2.6 GHz frequency bands, Telecompaper reported, citing the country's communications regulator.

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Anne Freier, Amanda Kelly, Koen Pijnappels and Gerard O'Dwyer contributed to this report.

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