Vodafone is said to have revived talks with the private equity owners of Ono about acquiring the company according to a media report, while another outlet claimed that the Spanish cableco is now also considering a bid for Vodafone Spain.
Last week Ono…
Vodafone is said to have revived talks with the private equity owners of Ono about acquiring the company according to a media report, while another outlet claimed that the Spanish cableco is now also considering a bid for Vodafone Spain.
Last week Ono CEO Rosalia Portela told TelecomFinance that the company would be in a much stronger position to grow through acquisitions once it had floated successfully.
In mid-February Ono decided to pursue an initial public offering despite an earlier informal approach by Vodafone to buy the company.
Sky News reported that Vodafone has now resumed talks with Ono’s private equity owners.
Vodafone is said to value the asset at around €7bn, and the British telco is wary about overpaying for the cableco. It is pessimistic about its chances of talking Ono’s shareholders out of an IPO, the report said citing an insider.
However, a banker close to Ono commented to Sky that any lengthy market volatility caused by the Ukraine crisis may convince Ono’s investors to accept a firm takeover bid from Vodafone instead.
Meanwhile UK newspaper The Times reported that Ono is considering a bid for Vodafone’s Spanish mobile business following its IPO. The cableco has discussed making an offer at board level and values the business at US$3.7bn, the paper said.
A proposed deal with Vodafone could increase Ono’s appeal to investors in the run up to a listing because investors could factor in significant synergies.
Ono’s capital structure has not allowed it to consider M&A opportunities in the past, Ono’s CEO Rosalia Portela said in an interview with TelecomFinance last week, but after the IPO it will become a lot more flexible.
The cableco has scheduled an AGM for 13 March in Madrid where shareholders will vote on whether to proceed with IPO.
Ono is 54.4%-owned by investment firms Providence Equity Partners, Thomas H. Lee, CCMP and Quadrangle, which invested €1bn into the company in 2005. The rest of its stock is held by other institutional investors.
Ono and Vodafone declined to comment on the reports.
