France Telecom has signed an agreement over the sale of its 20% stake in Sonaecom to Portuguese conglomerate Sonae for up to €113.5m (US$151.6m).
The two parties have entered into a put and call option, with majority shareholder Sonae having the call…
France Telecom has signed an agreement over the sale of its 20% stake in Sonaecom to Portuguese conglomerate Sonae for up to €113.5m (US$151.6m).
The two parties have entered into a put and call option, with majority shareholder Sonae having the call option for the next 18 months. Following that period France Telecom will be able to exercise its put option for three months.
The price of the stake on both the put and the call options is €98.9m, but this could rise to €113.5m if Sonaecom, parent of wireless operator Optimus, is involved in a deal that consolidates or restructures the Portuguese telecommunications sector in the next 24 months.
Sonaecom’s operator Optimus entered into a merger agreement with Portuguese cableco Zon Multimedia last month. Under the terms of the agreement Zon will absorb Optimus, with an exchange ratio that sees Zon corresponding to 150% of Optimus’ value.
In a statement France Telecom said the agreement with Sonea was in line with its stated objective of disposing its minority shareholding under terms that mean it would benefit from potential consolidation in Portugal’s telecoms market.
Providing Sonae does acquire France Telecom’s stake, held by subsidiary Atlas Services Belgium, its shareholding in Sonaecom will rise from 53.17% to 73.17%. The other shareholders in Sonaecom are Banco Comercial Portugues, which holds 3.41%, and Sonaecom itself that holds 1.37%, with the remaining 22.05% trading on NYSE Euronext Lisbon.
The agreement is subject to approval from the Portuguese Securities Commission (CMVM).