Freenet acquires Mobilezone Germany: a consolidation move with strategic logic
freenet AG signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Mobilezone Deutschland GmbH for approximately €230 million. The implied multiple sits well above the European benchmark, and the case for it rests entirely on synergies.
In October 2025 freenet AG announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Mobilezone Deutschland GmbH, including its material operating subsidiaries, for a purchase price of approximately €230 million. According to the freenet press release, Mobilezone generated revenues of nearly €780 million and EBITDA of approximately €30 million in 2024.
Those figures imply an EV/EBITDA multiple of roughly 7.6 times, substantially above typical European M&A multiples in retail and telco contexts.
Why the premium can be justified
- Quality of the digital and MVNO assets: through brands such as Sparhandy, Deinhandy and HIGH, Mobilezone holds a strong digital and MVNO position, which carries higher-margin, scalable revenue rather than pure physical retail.
- Channel access and strategic position: the deal locks in key distribution channels, notably the MediaMarkt and Saturn partnership extended in parallel, and strengthens freenet's reach across the German mobile market.
The premium holds only where the synergies materialize. Capturing savings in the order of 10% of the Mobilezone operating cost base brings the effective multiple down to roughly 6.1 times. That sits below freenet own trading multiple, cited at around 9.4 times in one analyst scenario, which makes the deal accretive under sound execution.
Risks and caveats
- Integration risk across systems, brands, cultures and back-office functions.
- Synergy assumptions: where the savings arrive short, the premium works against the buyer.
- Timing: closing depends on regulatory approval, and the return depends on how the integration is run.
Conclusion
This is a consolidation move in the German telecommunications and retail value chain. The premium of 7.6 times against a market benchmark near 6 times reflects the strategic value of the digital and MVNO assets and the need for freenet to secure distribution reach. Under a credible synergy case the acquisition turns accretive, widens the freenet footprint and can deliver shareholder value, provided execution is precise and the 2025 numbers land where they are expected.