ILikeFood schreef op 24 juli 2013 20:53:
Slim seeks better price on KPN deal
July 24, 2013 7:28 pm
Slim holds out for better price on KPN deal
By Anousha Sakoui and Daniel Thomas in London and Adam Thomson in Paris
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www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/6d59bdde-f46e...Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is not “in principle” opposed to Telefónica’s bid to buy KPN’s German unit, but instead believes the €8.1bn offer is too low.
Mr Slim controls a near 30 per cent stake in Dutch group KPN via America Movil (AMX), his telecoms company. Two KPN directors appointed by AMX did not vote in favour of the deal, which is one of Europe’s biggest mergers and acquisitions deal this year and would create a combined business worth €16bn.
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www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/6d59bdde-f46e...“I believe AMX is not opposed in principle to the deal,” said a person familiar with the situation. “Price is the issue.”
That is despite the fact that the €8.1bn cash-and-shares offer for the E-Plus Mobilfunk unit is widely seen by analysts as being high, despite estimates that the combination could result in cost savings of €5bn.
The Mexican billionaire held talks with Telefónica before theannouncement but wanted a better deal, the people said.
Shares in both companies rose on the news of the offer.
“The market perceives this as a great deal for KPN and not such a great deal for Telefónica. It hardens the line for Telefónica,” said a second person. “He should think twice about killing this.”
The question for Mr Slim’s America Movil is whether to sell at a low point in the cycle for telecoms, or keep holding of his large minority position in KPN and try to build the group up.
The German deal is hugely significant for the telecoms market as it will act as a test case for whether future consolidation will be allowed in a telecoms markets hard hit by the economic downturn but unable to create greater economies of scale in tightly regulated conditions.
There has not been a similarly sized deal put to the Brussels antitrust watchdog for fear of harsh reprisals.
One person close to the deal said KPN was in a weaker position owing to a lack of sufficient 4G spectrum needed for future superfast mobile services in Germany, while Telefónica’s balance sheet was newly strengthened through asset sales. The capital markets were also easier to access now to raise money for the deal, said another person.
The deal would in effect crystallise some of the losses incurred by America Movil in KPN. It would leave KPN with a much reduced scope, even if it will retain a stake in the German unit, given the fact that its domestic Dutch operations are under heavy pressure from telecoms rivals and technology groups and a Belgium business that it has already tried to sell.
“It is a good deal today for the KPN shareholders but not from where Slim bought,” the person added.
The sale would remove the limit on America Movil raising its stake, which has raised questions about whether Mr Slim could exploit the situation to take greater control of the Dutch group. Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein even speculated about a joint bid with AT&T.
However, others close to the situation dismissed talk of a counterbid from either.
Talks between the two companies, which had been on-and-off for a long time, resumed after KPN completed its rights issue in April, with meetings initially held just between Eelco Blok, chief executive of KPN, and José María Alvarez-Pallete López, chief operating officer for Telefónica.
Code named “Kate” and Teresa”, the two companies decided a deal could now work and brought in their finance directors before recruiting teams to formally structure the deal.
AMX declined to comment.