Telefonica increased its stake in its German subsidiary to 93.1 per cent during a public tender offer to shareholders, spending around €1.5 billion in cash.

The operator stated it raised its stake from approximately 71.8 per cent held when it announced the public acquisition in November 2023, acquiring 630 million shares equating to more than 21 per cent. The offer is expected to be settled on 26 January 2024.

When launching the tender offer, it said it wanted to buy the 28.1 per cent in Telefonica Deutschland it did not already own.

Telefonica originally stated it would pay €2.35 per share, a 37.6 per premium on its share price at the time.

The move to increase its stake supports the operator group’s wider strategy to focus on core markets of Spain, Brazil, the UK and Germany.

It has described Germany as one of the most attractive and stable telecoms markets in Europe.

No regulatory approval is needed for the transaction.