French conglomerate Vivendi may consider an initial public offering for its Brazilian telco GVT, Dow Jones reported citing two unnamed people.
According to the sources an IPO is among the alternatives considered if the ongoing sale process…
French conglomerate Vivendi may consider an initial public offering for its Brazilian telco GVT, Dow Jones reported citing two unnamed people.
According to the sources an IPO is among the alternatives considered if the ongoing sale process failed.
Vivendi will send out invitations to potential buyers soon, thereby kicking off the formal disposal process, Dow Jones added with reference to a person familiar with the situation.
Vivendi declined to comment on the report.
Vivendi’s debts reached €14.1bn at end of June and the conglomerate is currently undergoing a strategic review as it looks to address its balance sheet.
Rothschild and Deutsche Bank were reportedly hired in August to assess strategic options for GVT.
Vivendi is looking to offload GVT because it is going back to its original focus, reports Dow Jones citing an unnamed source.
That tallies with previous reports that have suggested that chairman Jean-Rene Fourtou favours moving away from telcos following the resignation of CEO Jean-Bernard Levy.
It had been speculated that Vivendi could be looking to split itself into two businesses – one telecoms and one media – but speaking at the end of August its CFO Philippe Capron said that was not something the firm was contemplating.
Last week it was reported that US satellite TV firm DirecTV was interested in acquiring GVT and had requested information from Vivendi so it could conduct due diligence. Both companies declined to comment on the report.
Vivendi acquired GVT in 2009, and estimates have put a value of between €5.2bn and €8.5bn on the fixed-line operator.
Alongside its Brazilian unit Vivendi also controls French operator SFR and Maroc Telecom.
