London, March 13, 2026, 18:39 GMT
Zegona Communications Plc dropped 4.4% on Friday, closing at 1,735 pence in London. Despite the slide, the company reported scooping up another 300,000 shares on March 12, paying an average of 1,780.47 pence apiece under its buyback programme, according to a filing. 1
This matters because the buyback—Zegona snapping up and cancelling its own stock—offers the most immediate clue to how the company is putting cash from Vodafone Spain’s fibre asset revamp to work. Last week, FiberPass wrapped up, handing Zegona 0.4 billion euros in upfront cash. Of that, 0.2 billion euros is marked for the buyback, with the other 0.2 billion set aside to pay down debt. 2
On Friday, a notice followed Thursday’s filing that detailed a 172,000-share buyback at an average price of 1,760.53 pence on March 11. These shares, along with those from the latest round, will be cancelled—leaving the share count at 229,433,802 post-cancellation, according to the company’s Friday update. 3
After AXA wrapped up the FiberPass transaction, Chairman and CEO Eamonn O’Hare described it as bringing in “significant proceeds” along with “a step change in net debt reduction.” According to Zegona, the influx of cash is expected to push net debt down to 3.2 billion euros by the end of March, trimming yearly interest expenses. 2
The investment thesis hinges on that capital allocation drive. Zegona picked up Vodafone Spain in a 5 billion euro deal, first unveiled by Vodafone back in October 2023—a move that marked the British company’s retreat from a drag on its results. 4
Zegona now finds itself lining up with larger Spanish telecom operators after the network overhaul. FiberPass is split among Telefonica with a 55% stake, AXA at 40%, and Vodafone Spain holding the remaining 5%. Back in January 2025, Reuters noted that Vodafone Spain was set to take around 10% in a different fiber joint venture with MasOrange. 2
The pullback on Friday broke what had been a solid streak. Still, shares hung onto a roughly 24% gain for the year, trading between 1,725 and 1,850 pence that day. They’re not far off a 52-week peak at 1,880 pence. 1
Another sign in management’s favor landed this week. According to a regulatory filing Wednesday, independent non-executive director Suzi Williams picked up 2,500 shares at 16.8334 pounds apiece on March 4. That move bumped her total up to 10,358 shares. 5
The buyback leaves the main issue unresolved. Zegona’s March-end debt target is still looming, and Europe’s telecom industry—Reuters calls it “heavily indebted and highly competitive”—won’t make that any easier. Should deleveraging stall, or the Spain recovery sputter, the case for more cash to shareholders quickly fades. 2
Friday’s update didn’t clear things up. Despite management putting the fresh fibre-deal cash toward share buybacks, the stock dropped hard. Investors seemed to shrug off the day’s announcements, focusing instead on whether Vodafone Spain can deliver on cutting debt, getting financing costs down, and stabilizing its cash flow. 1
