French telco Iliad is still in talks with with potential partners to team up with to make an improved offer for a stake in T-Mobile US, according to CFO Thomas Reynaud. Reynaud said during a conference call earlier today that a number of industrial and…
French telco Iliad is still in talks with with potential partners to team up with to make an improved offer for a stake in T-Mobile US, according to CFO Thomas Reynaud.
Reynaud said during a conference call earlier today that a number of industrial and financial players contacted Iliad, owned by French billionaire Xavier Niel, in August and that talks are ongoing.
“To ensure that these discussions go to term, we cannot tell you more about them this morning,” he said, adding that he cannot predict how long they will take.
T-Mobile’s majority shareholder Deutsche Telekom (DT) dismissed Iliad’s opportunistic US$33 per share – total US$15bn – cash offer for 56.6% of the operator last month.
However, Iliad was reportedly quick to enter talks with potential partners, including US cablecos and satellite operators such as Charter Communications and Dish Networks, to sweeten its offer. Discussions have also been held with Canada’s Ontario Teachers Pension and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC, Reuters cited sources in early August as saying.
Last week, senior managers from DT, which has a 67% stake in T-Mobile US, reportedly determined US$35 to US$40 per share would be a realistic valuation range, Bloomberg cited a person with knowledge of the matter as saying. Meanwhile, Reuters cited a person familiar with the situation as saying US$35 per share would be too low.
The US’ third-largest mobile operator, Sprint Corp, had also set its sights on T-Mobile but abandoned its bid for control in early August due to regulatory concerns.
It remains to be seen whether another potential bidder would be able to project the same synergies to justify the US$40 per share mooted by DT and Sprint.
However, an Iliad deal would not face regulatory hurdles as the number of large mobile operators would remain at four.
At the time of writing, T-Mobile US’ shares on the NYSE were up 0.8% to US$30.08 per share. The company has a market capitalisation on the exchange of US$24.28bn.