Telefónica has increased its stake in its German subsidiary Telefónica Deutschland to 93 percent.
In doing so, the telco has edged a step closer to taking full ownership of the subsidiary.
The Spanish telco upped its stake during a public tender offer to shareholders, spending around €1.5 billion ($1.63bn).
When launching its tender offer back in November, Telefónica said it wanted to buy 28.19 percent of the German company which is owned by other bodies.
Prior to increasing its stake to 93 percent, Telefónica's stake in the German subsidiary represented 71.81 percent.
The offer is expected to be finalized on January 26, 2024. No regulatory approval is needed for the transaction to go ahead, stated Telefónica.
Telefónica Deutschland has a market value of around €5 billion and reported 2023 profits of €125 million to September 30.
Statista notes that Telefónica Deutschland (O2) has more than 26.7 million mobile subscribers across Germany.
Telefónica Germany was founded in 1995 as Viag Interkom. It was a joint venture between BT, Viag (now E.On), and Telenor.
When BT bought out Viag in 2001, and spun off its mobile business as mmO2, the unit became O2. Telefónica acquired the company in 2005, and then merged it with Germany's Hanenet in 2010. 23 percent of the company was sold in 2012.
