United Internet News

Investments
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This topic summarizes and discusses United Internet news.

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IONOS will buy back shares worth EUR 60 million

  • IONOS announced that it will buy back share up to 2,000,000 treasury shares worth EUR 60 million via the stock exchange.

    “With the approval of the Supervisory Board, to launch a share buyback program and to acquire up to 2,000,000 treasury shares (corresponding to approx. 1.4% of the share capital of EUR 140,000,000) via the stock exchange. The volume of the buyback program amounts to a total of up to EUR 60 million (excluding associated costs).”

  • United Internet controls 63.8% stake in IONOS Group SE as of Q3 2025 (page 6).

Assessment
The buyback may send a message of confidence to the market regarding IONOS’s future cash flow and performance. It could also signal that they have found a buyer for the AdTech business since they said in the latest earnings call that they may deploy proceeds of the sale in share buybacks (Notion-Q3 2025 earnings call)

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1&1 acquires 1&1 Versatel for approx. EUR 1.3 billion and will take over all its assets, including a loan liability of approx. EUR 950 million to United Internet

  • 1&1 buys Versatel from United Internet for around €1.3 billion, taking over its assets and roughly €950 million of debt.
  • No cash leaves 1&1 at closing since the payment is done via internal offsets and a repayable loan to United Internet.
  • The price may increased or decrease by €300m in 2030, depending on Versatel’s 2027–2029 results.
  • United Internet said the transaction will have no impact on its 2025 guidance.

Assessment

UI shares rose 5% from +2.8% earlier on while 1&1 shares rose more than 4.3% from more than 2% earlier on following the announcement.

In my opinion, the acquisition of Versatel by 1&1 increases probability of Telefonica buying 1&1 since their main interest based on Telefonica new CEO’S commentaries is fibre expansion in Germany (Notion-Q3 2025 United Internet earnings). 1&1 could be trying to pass a message that “If you want to buy Versatel, you will have to buy us also”. Versatel also increases the value for 1&1 since 1&1 is now a full package.

I estimate Versatel could generate EBITDA of EUR 168 million in 2025 (Valuation Model-Google Sheets). Hence, at EUR 1.3 billion buying price and maybe 700m-1b in net debt the enterprise value is around EUR 2-2.3 billion and EV/EBITDA of 12x-14x. This suggests that a premium was paid given United Internet’s and IONOS’s EV/EBITDA is around 6x and 10x, respectively.

While United Internet doesn’t receive any immediate cash from the sale, its cash outflows to 1&1 will be canceled since it owed 1&1 EUR 770 million as at 30 September 2025 (page 18). The transaction will thus improve its liquidity, enabling United Internet to reduce its debt liabilities and even pursue share buy backs in future.

Versatel’s integration with 1&1 also helps reduce United Internet’s complexity, helping boost its valuation multiples.

Overall, I think the sale of Versatel to 1&1 is positive for United Internet.

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IONOS now expects revenue of €1,323 million (+6% y/y), down from €1,348 million previously guided but in line with my estimate

  • IONOS now expects revenue of €1,323 million (+6% y/y), down from €1,348 million previously guided due to delays in customer projects.
  • My estimate (Valuation Model-Google Sheets) was revenue €1,323 million (+5.9% y/y).
  • It raised its adjusted EBITDA margin to 36.5% from around 35%, implying adjusted EBITDA of €480 million (+17% y/y).
  • It guides 2026 revenue growth of 7% (my estimate: +4%) and adjusted EBITDA of around €530 million (+10% y/y).
  • IONOS said a large portion of customers are already choosing services supported by AI.
  • United Internet shares are little changed while and IONOS shares are up 1.3% following the report.

Assessment

Overall, I view the report as positive, particularly the 2026 guidance, which suggests that growth is not expected to decelerate as I had previously anticipated.

Q4 2025 United Internet Earnings
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IONOS launches €60m share buyback (approximately 1.6% of shares)

  • IONOS announced that it will buy back up to 2.2 m treasury shares (around 1.6% of total share capital) worth EUR 60 million via the stock exchange.
  • United Internet controls 63.8% stake in IONOS Group SE as of Q4 2025 (page 5).
  • IONOS had also announced in November 2025 that it will repurchase 2.2 m treasury shares (approximately 1.4% of the share capital).

Assessment
The continued share buybacks may signal management’s confidence in the stock being undervalued and its future cash flows, especially with €800 million syndicated bank loan maturing in December 2026.

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Remind what the cash / balance sheet situation of Ionos looks like? (Best to create a page in Notion + link here as well)

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GMX Managing Director Michael Hagenau said the GMX is seeing strong customer surge due to data privacy concerns

‘Concerns among people in Germany regarding unauthorized access to their personal data by US authorities under the Donald Trump administration are currently driving a strong influx of customers - similar to 2013, when whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations made headlines,’ said Hagenau

https://www.marketscreener.com/news/united-internet-brand-gmx-sees-customer-surge-amid-data-privacy-concerns-ce7f5ad9d088f62c

Q2 2026 United Internet Earnings
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Buy, €38.90->€38.10: Goldman Sachs analyst Andrew Lee said he refined his estimates for IONOS ahead of the second quarter earnings.

https://www.finanzen.net/analyse/ionos_buy-goldman_sachs_group_inc._1086902

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United Internet rises 5.4% and 1&1 gains 3.7% as European telecom stocks rally following Vodafone’s shareholder shake-up

  • Vodafone shares surged more than 10% after French billionaire Xavier Niel agreed to acquire a 16.2% stake in the UK telecom group from e&, becoming its largest shareholder.
  • The deal was struck at a 13% premium to Vodafone’s previous closing price.
  • Niel is one of Europe’s most active dealmakers and has long championed consolidation in the region’s fragmented telecoms industry.
  • Other German-related telecom stocks such as Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica rose 2.7% and 2.0%, respectively.

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/uaes-e-sell-vodafone-stake-french-telecoms-tycoon-nearly-6-billion-2026-07-10/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Assessment

The market is probably speculating that Niel may push Vodafone to acquire 1&1.

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1&1 announces restructuring program at 1&1 Versatel, resulting in around €60m of one-off expenses in 2026 and €25m annual earnings contribution from 2028

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IONOS announces voluntary redundancy program, resulting in €35 m one-off expenses in 2026 and annual cost savings of up to €30 from 2027

  • The redundancy program will lead to reduction in the number of employees to about 3,350 from 3,800.
  • The program is driven by the harmonization and consolidation of technical platforms and processes, alongside the increased use of artificial intelligence in internal workflows.
  • IONOS reiterated its 2026 outlook for adjusted EBITDA of EUR 530 million, despite the expected one-off expenses.
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United Internet keeps its revenue and operating EBITDA guidance unchanged, following restructuring programs at 1&1 and IONOS

  • United Internet still expects operating EBITDA of EUR 1.45 B and revenue of around EUR 6.45 billion, despite restructuring programs at 1&1 and IONOS.

    “The restructuring expenses will be reported as a one-off special item and adjusted accordingly. They will therefore have no impact on the Company’s operating EBITDA guidance of approx. EUR 1.45 billion for fiscal year 2026,” it said.

  • It said the restructuring programs at 1&1 and IONOS will result in one-off expenses of around EUR 95 million in 2026 and annual cost savings of around EUR 55 million, which will be invested in the Company’s further development.

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