China Unicom and Spain’s Telefonica have reached an agreement to buy $1 billion worth of each other’s shares.

China Unicom and Spain’s Telefonica have reached an agreement to buy $1 billion worth of each other’s shares. After the deal, the Spanish firm’s stake in Unicom will increase to 8 per cent while China’s second largest wireless operator will hold about 0.9 per cent of Telefonica. The two companies will cooperate by sharing infrastructure and equipment, performing research and development, and providing roaming and other services for multinational customers. The deal, according to a statement, gives both companies access to 550 million customers worldwide. Telefonica has 264 million subscribers, while China Unicom reports 141 million mobile users and 108 million landline subscribers.