Monaco Telecom completed a purchase of Vodafone Malta for €250 million, as the former continues to pursue a goal of expanding into markets across the Mediterranean basin.

The deal was first announced in December 2019 and cleared by regulators last month. As announced in Times of Malta prior to completion, Vodafone Malta’s former head of consumer business Tamas Banyai takes over as CEO from Sonia Hernandez.

In an interview with The Malta Independent in January, Monaco Telecom CEO Martin Peronnet said post-acquisition it planned to expand the footprint of the operation, including by increasing the scale of its fixed network. As part of the deal it will retain the Vodafone branding for at least a transitional period.

The acquisition is the latest move in Monaco Telecom’s attempt to expand its business into more markets around the Mediterranean basin. In 2018 it acquired MTN Group’s operation in Cyprus for €260 million, later rebranded Epic.

Monaco Telelcom is jointly owned by the government of Monaco and NJJ Capital, an investment company controlled by French billionaire Xavier Niel. Alongside his interest in NJJ Capital, Niel owns 71 per cent of Iliad, which operates mobile services in both France and Italy.