PT SGPS shareholders will vote on Altice’s planned €7.4bn (US$9.2bn) acquisition of PT Portugal from Brazilian telco Oi at a meeting on 12 January.
PT SGPS holds around 25% of Oi and, as the largest shareholder, has the right to veto the deal. The…
PT SGPS shareholders will vote on Altice’s planned €7.4bn (US$9.2bn) acquisition of PT Portugal from Brazilian telco Oi at a meeting on 12 January.
PT SGPS holds around 25% of Oi and, as the largest shareholder, has the right to veto the deal. The transaction is also subject to regulatory clearance.
On Tuesday, Oi agreed to sell its Portuguese and Hungarian assets to the Luxembourg-based telecoms holding, less than 10 days after the companies entered exclusive talks.
The Rio de Janeiro-based telco inherited these operations, as well as few other assets in Africa, from PT Portugal following its merger with the Portuguese incumbent.
Altice, which initially submitted a €7.03bn bid for PT Portugal in early November, later improved its offer to outbid a consortium including PE funds Apax Partners, Bain Capital and Portuguese holding Semapa.
By adding Oi’s Portuguese mobile and fixed assets to its portfolio, Altice would complement its fixed offering in the country, where it already operates via its cableco Cabovisao and telecoms unit Oni.
Meanwhile, highly-leveraged Oi has been looking to raise cash to invest in the domestic market, where it has been repeatedly linked to a potential bid for Brazil’s second-largest player, Telecom Italia-owned TIM Brasil.
PT SGPS is itself a takeover target, having received a €1.2bn (US$1.5bn) acquisition offer from Angolan entrepreneur Isabel dos Santos in early November.
In a 29-page report published on Wednesday, PT SGPS board directors criticised her offer for being too low and questioned its validity and ultimate objectives. Shareholders have yet to vote on the bid but dos Santos is reportedly expected to withdraw her offer now that Oi has agreed to sell PT Portugal.
Dos Santos’ move for the holding was reportedly aimed at capitalising on synergies in the Portuguese-speaking telecoms sector by linking PT Portugal, Oi and one of its African subsidiaries, Angola’s Unitel.
Dos Santos is already present in Portugal via her controlling stake in the country’s second-largest carrier Nos, and in Angola where she has a 25% stake in Unitel.
