Vodafone Greece and Wind Hellas plan to complete due diligence on Greek fixed-line operator Forthnet shortly and any further developments will take place in the first quarter of 2015, Wind Hellas CEO Nassos Zarkalis has said. Zarkalis told media at a…
Vodafone Greece and Wind Hellas plan to complete due diligence on Greek fixed-line operator Forthnet shortly and any further developments will take place in the first quarter of 2015, Wind Hellas CEO Nassos Zarkalis has said.
Zarkalis told media at a recent briefing that strategic plans drafted by Vodafone and Wind Hellas, Greece’s second- and third-largest mobile players respectively, to acquire the indebted Forthnet on a 50-50 basis remain intact.
He noted that Vodafone has not yet exercised its option to acquire a 13.25% stake in Forthnet from Wind. If it chooses to do so, the two telcos’ stakes in Forthnet, the number one alternative operator in the local fixed-line market, will each total 19.75%. At present, Wind and Vodafone have stakes of 33% and 6.5% respectively.
Zarkalis also confirmed Wind’s interest in the consolidation of the fixed-line telephony market, but did not elaborate.
Vodafone and Wind submitted a joint non-binding bid for Forthnet in July, offering between €1.70 and €1.90 per share for all of its outstanding stock. Forthnet has a market capitalisation on the Athens bourse of around €106.35m (US$130.56m), valuing the 60.5% of shares not owned by Vodafone and Wind at €64.34m (US$78.99m).
Earlier in the month, incumbent OTE had submitted a non-binding offer of between €250m (US$323m) and €300m (US$387m) for Forthnet’s DTH business Nova.
Forthnet has said it will decide which of the non-binding proposals to go with by the end of December 2014.
The operator – which offers broadband, fixed-line telephony and pay-TV via satellite – is 44%-owned by Emirates International Telecommunication, a unit of Dubai Holding which has invested a significant amount into the operator.
During its recent third quarter results presentation, Forthnet revealed plans to offer convertible notes to help meet bond repayments of €180m due next year. The company has mandated an independent financial adviser to formulate a refinancing programme to present to lenders.
Vodafone has already played an active role in Greek consolidation, closing its €72.7m acquisition of fixed-line player Hellas Online in late November.
