United Internet AG, freenet AG and Drillisch AG have started concrete discussions on a potential strategic partnership.
Within a potential overall transaction, Drillisch AG shall acquire the wireless telephone service provider business from freenet AG. freenet AG has granted Drillisch AG exclusivity for the contract negotiations. The sale of the wireless telephone service provider business is subject to a change of control in freenet AG.
This follows an earlier announcement from Hamburg-based freenet that it continues on the road to success in a tough market environment.
freenet AG announced it continued working undeterred on its growth in the strategic fields of DSL and the freenetKomplett DSL service, convergence products and mobile
telephony. As a result, freenet AG – partly by launching more and more aggressively priced DSL packages and discount deals in mobile telephony – had a successful third quarter with continued customer growth in the lines of business, as profitability continued high.
Compared with the end of the third quarter of 2006, the number of contract customers rose by 670,000 to 6.32 mln of which 2.90 mln were mobile telephony customers, 1.27 mln DSL and freenetKomplett DSL customers, 1.68 mln Paid Services customers and 470,000 Pre-selection customers. By the end of Q3/2007, the total number of mobile telephony customers had increased by 440,000 to 5.45 mln, while the DSL and freenetKomplett DSL customer base grew by 360,000 to 1.27 mln (vs. Q3/2006).
“Stronger growth in the DSL segment,” said freenet AG CEO Eckhard Spoerr, “was prevented mainly by problems in the activation of freenetKomplett DSL customers by Deutsche Telekom, as well as the fact that Telekom is offering retail tariffs for DSL packages that are actually below our wholesale costs of purchase from this former monopoly operator. We have already taken this matter to the regulator and hope that a stop will soon be put to these unfair practices.”
Against this backdrop, freenet generated revenue of EUR 470 mln in Q3/2007, putting it on par with the previous quarter’s performance, a 7% decline compared with Q3/2006. Mobile Telephony accounted for EUR 301.4 mln of revenue, Fixed-Line/Internet contributed EUR 168.6 mln. Across the group, total revenue for the first nine months of 2007 totalled EUR 1,39 bln – a 9% decline year on year.
