Petr Kellner, the Czech billionaire owner of the PPF investment group, has boosted his stake in O2 Czech Republic from 65.93% to 83.15%, according to a filing with the country’s central bank.
The notification was required under Czech law as…
Petr Kellner, the Czech billionaire owner of the PPF investment group, has boosted his stake in O2 Czech Republic from 65.93% to 83.15%, according to a filing with the country’s central bank.
The notification was required under Czech law as Kellner’s stake has exceeded 75% of the company’s voting rights.
Surpassing the 90% threshold allows a squeeze out of minority shareholders.
Meanwhile, Unicredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia has reduced its stake in O2 CR, the nation’s largest integrated telco and second largest mobile operator, from 5.68% to 0.13%, separate bank filings show.
Netherlands-based PPF closed its Kc63.6bn (US$3.32bn) acquisition of a 65.9% stake in O2 CR from Spain’s Telefonica in January. In July, the investment firm bought an additional 7.2% stake via a mandatory tender offer, boosting its stake to 73.1%.
Earlier this month, PPF asked O2 CR for a loan of up to Kc24.8bn (US$1.14bn) to help repay the bank debt it took on to acquire its majority stake in the telco.
In a statement at the time, O2 CR said that as it does not have the resources to provide the loan itself, it assumes the funds will need to come from external sources. O2’s board has decided to conduct an analysis of the requested financial assistance and carry out the steps necessary to approve it.
PPF financed the O2 CR acquisition with a Kc35.5bn (US$1.85bn) equity tranche and a €2.89bn syndicated loan facility led by Societe Generale.
