Fibre optic grid company AES Atimus looks ripe to be acquired in the short-term.
A spokesperson told TelecomFinance the company had received takeover offers, but did not provide more details on the bidders.
She said AES, which owns a 5,000km network,…
Fibre optic grid company AES Atimus looks ripe to be acquired in the short-term.
A spokesperson told TelecomFinance the company had received takeover offers, but did not provide more details on the bidders.
She said AES, which owns a 5,000km network, “has always been a quite coveted target within the telecom sector”. It was reported in May that GVT, the fixed-line subsidiary of French media and telecoms group Vivendi, was preparing to mount a R$2.5bn (US$1.6bn) bid for AES.
Telecom Italia has reportedly made a preliminary ?610m offer, which some observers speculated could be part paid in TIM shares. Telecom Italia’s local assets are voice and data provider Intelig and mobile operator TIM Brasil. Telecom Italia declined to comment. AES is to invest R$93m in its network, mainly focusing on expanding geographical reach (including Sao Paolo) and upgrading the network for FTTH.
Telemar Participacoes (Oi), has announced a corporate restructuring that will consolidate three publicly-traded companies in the group. Oi controls Tele Norte Leste Participacoes (TNL), Telemar Norte Leste (TMAR), Coari Participacoes and Brasil Telecom (BRT). TNL, TMAR and BRT are all publicly traded, with a combined seven classes of shares.
The reorganisation will involve two main components.
The first is an exchange of newly issued shares in Coari with currently outstanding shares in TMAR. The second is a merger of shares from Coari and TNL into BRT. BRT will then be renamed Oi S.A, consolidating all the equity interests of the Oi Group.
The proposal requires approval by shareholders of all the companies, with shareholder meetings expected to take place in around 180 days. Shares in Oi S.A are due to start trading 40 days after these meetings, if the restructuring is approved.
Oi’s shareholders have approved an offering of R$1.5bn (US$920m) in unsecured one-year debentures for its subsidiary Tele Norte Leste Participacoes.
According to the minutes of a shareholder meeting, the co-ordinating banks for the offering are Banco Itau and Banco de Investimento. The debentures are not convertible into shares.
State-owned telco Telebras, which is managing the National Broadband Programme (PNBL), has picked Embratel, GVT and Intelig to supply interconnection links for internet content.
Each of the winners is foreign-owned.
Fixed-line provider Embratel is a subsidiary of America Movil; cableco GVT is a subsidiary of French media and telecoms group Vivendi; and long-distance and international telephone services provider Intelig is controlled by Telecom Italia.
The contracts will last for two years.
The companies must provide connections between the broadband network that Telebras is developing for PNBL, and existing domestic and international broadband networks.
The contracts had been divided into twelve lots worth a total of R$70.8m (US$43m).
Intelig paid R$33.6m (US$21m) for six lots, Embratel paid R$22.7m (US$14m) for three lots, and GVT paid R$14.7m (US$14m) for another three lots.
