THE HAGUE: Mexican telecom operator America Movil yesterday launched a bid for Dutch KPN, valuing it at ¤10.2bn ($13.6bn), putting KPN’s intended sale of German subsidiary E-Plus in question.
The move for full control comes against a background of high-stakes manoeuvres and changes of scenery in the European mobile telecoms market.
America Movil, owned by tycoon Carlos Slim, already has a 29.77-percent stake in the Dutch telecoms company after launching a hostile partial take-over in the summer of 2012.
It has offered ¤2.4 per share for the remaining holding — a premium of more than 35 percent of the average closing price of the stock in the past 30 days of trade, the company said in a statement.
The price of shares in KPN leapt 16 percent to ¤2.32 yesterday. The Mexican operator launched the bid without waiting for approval from KPN’s management.
KPN’s board of directors said it had “taken note” of the bid and would give the offer careful consideration, but would explore all the options available.
The deal comes as Europe’s mobile market is in the midst of massive upheaval. One example is the recent arrival of low-cost operator Free in France which has created turmoil for established operators.
Last month, America Movil ended an agreement not to increase its stake in KPN to more than 30 percent, after the Dutch operator said it was selling its German subsidiary, E-Plus to Telefonica of Spain.
Telefonica, a major competitor with America Movil in Latin America, wants to dilute its dependence on southern European economies with the acquisition of E-Plus at a price of ¤5bn. That deal still needs the approval of shareholders, who are expected to meet in the next few weeks.
America Movil (AMX) has said publicly that it has not yet decided how it will vote on the sale, but some analysts believe the bid to take control of KPN is aimed at blocking the deal.
“In our view, AMX was forced to this bid by the E-Plus deal,” said ABN Amro analyst Marc Hesselink. “Without E-Plus there is limited strategic value in KPN and hence limited chance that America Movil will see a return on its initial KPN investment.”
KPN had put the unit up for sale in a strategy to refocus its activities and strengthen its structure as a business.
KPN has announced a 68-percent fall in net profit for the second quarter of 2013 to ¤108m. Sales in the period were off 8.1 percent from the figure a year earlier to ¤2.93bn, the company said.
“Conditions remained challenging in the first half of 2013, however we have further strengthened our market positions,” chief executive Eelco Blok said.
AFP
