Investment companies Apollo Global Management and JB Capital reportedly teamed to prepare a joint offer for Vodafone Spain, with the operator’s value estimated at €5 billion. 

The rumour and valuation were first reported by Spanish business newspaper Expansion, and come less than a month after investment company Zegona Communications revealed it was in talks with the operator group to buy its troubled Spanish business.

Apollo Global was rumoured to be among a list of potential suitors for Vodafone Spain in a Bloomberg story from April, where that news publication estimated the value of the unit at more than $4 billion.

The future of Vodafone Spain has been the subject of regular media speculation over the last few years as executives from its group parent continued to bemoan the high level of competition in the market.

Vodafone Spain is currently under strategic review as part of a wider push led by Group CEO Margherita Della Valle designed to spur growth in its European operations.