Telefónica Deutschland has agreed to sell yourfone, the secondary brand launched by E-Plus in April 2012, to its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) partner Drillisch, but stressed that it does not intend to sell any further customers after its merger with E-Plus.
As things stand, the proposed sale of yourfone is due to take place by January 2015 following discussions about the details of the transaction in the coming two weeks. If a final agreement is reached, Telefónica Deutschland said it expects a purchase price "in the medium to high double-digit million euro range".
KPN, the former parent company of German operator E-Plus, initially launched yourfone as a secondary brand to target smartphone users with an explicit focus on mobile data. At the time yourfone joined a raft of existing brands under the E-Plus umbrella including BASE, Ay Yildiz, Vybemobile, and Simyo.
When it first launched, yourfone's unique selling point was offering a data-centric bundle that did not include SMS to consumers who wished to surf, chat, and call on their smartphones.
Although it plans to make use of this "unique opportunity" to sell yourfone, which currently has 235,000 active subscribers, Telefónica Deutschland stressed that it does not intend to sell further customers of its combined portfolio and will continue to pursue a multi-brand strategy. Like E-Plus, Telefónica Deutschland has also made use of separate brands including Fonic and Netzclub to target different market segments.
The operator added that further details about its "future brand architecture" would be defined during the ongoing transformation and integration process.
Telefónica Deutschland assumed the position as the leading mobile operator in Germany with 41 million subscriptions, after formally completing the acquisition of 100 per cent of E-Plus from KPN on Oct. 1.
For more:
- see this Telefónica Deutschland release
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