UK investment fund Zegona missed a deadline to bid for a 75 per cent stake in Telia’s Spanish unit Yoigo due to “funding problems”, El Confidencial reported, allowing local MVNO Masmovil to swoop with a €550 million order.

Previously, Masmovil, which operates as an MVNO and integrated services provider in Spain, had backed out because it was unable to beat Zegona’s offer of €630 million.

Telia now has to decide if it will accept Masmovil’s lower offer or give Zegona more time to fund its bid.

This is not the first time a sale of the business has been considered, although so far Telia has not found a buyer at the right price.

Acquiring Yoigo would enable Zegona to pursue a quadplay strategy in Spain, where it last year bought cable operator Telecable for €640 million.

Back in January, Masmovil abandoned plans to acquire a 50.1 per cent stake in MVNO Youmobile, following a period of due diligence, which led to a “lack of agreement between the parties on issues relevant to the economic transaction”.

Yoigo is Spain’s smallest operator, trailing rivals Movistar (Telefonica), Orange and Vodafone with just a 7 per cent market share (3.3 million mobile connections).