Vodafone rejects proposal to merge Italian units: Iliad

Iliad had submitted a proposal to Vodafone to merge the Italian units, a move that would have combined its fast-growing consumer base with the British company's strength in business in a highly competitive market.

French telecom operator Iliad on Wednesday said that Vodafone had rejected its revised proposal to merge their Italian businesses.

Iliad had said in December that it had submitted a proposal to Vodafone to merge the Italian units, a move that would have combined its fast-growing consumer base with the British company's strength in business in a highly competitive market.

"The Iliad Group is confident that the offer presented was the best possible business combination to benefit a struggling Italian market and telecommunications industry," Iliad said in a statement.