Carlos Slim’s America Movil (AMX) now has a 59.7% stake in Telekom Austria (TA) after the additional acceptance period for its public tender offer ended last week.
The Mexican telco’s subsidiary Carso Telecom acquired an additional 38.4 million…
Carlos Slim’s America Movil (AMX) now has a 59.7% stake in Telekom Austria (TA) after the additional acceptance period for its public tender offer ended last week.
The Mexican telco’s subsidiary Carso Telecom acquired an additional 38.4 million shares, equal to an 8.68% holding, the Austrian incumbent telco said in a statement.
AMX paid €7.15 per share, representing an overall value of €274.5m (US$350.7m).
This brought America Movil’s total number of shares, held both directly and indirectly, to about 264.47 million, equivalent to a 59.7% holding.
America Movil became the Vienna-based telco’s majority shareholder in July, paying €743m (US$1bn) to boost its stake from 27.33% to 50.8%.
AMX CFO Carlos Garcia Moreno has said the company, which has a syndicate agreement with co-shareholder Austrian state holding company OeIAG, intends to keep 24% of TA’s shares listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange.
Yesterday, Reuters quoted two sources close to the situation as saying TA is likely to launch its much-anticipated €1bn (US$1.28bn) rights issue before the end of the year, market conditions permitting.
TA shareholders approved the capital increase, aimed at protecting its investment-grade rating, in August. At the time, the telco said its management board may issue up to 221.5 million new bearer shares within the next five years.
America Movil and OeIAG have both committed to supporting the capital hike.
AMX CEO Daniel Hajj commented that the rights issue would help the company, which has a €3bn market cap, benefit from investment opportunities in Central and Eastern European markets. TA currently has mobile operations in seven CEE countries.
