Portuguese telco Sonaecom has made a tender offer to acquire the 24.6% of its share capital that is not already owned by its parent company or held in treasury shares.
In return holders of the free-float stock will receive a mix of Zon Optimus shares…
Portuguese telco Sonaecom has made a tender offer to acquire the 24.6% of its share capital that is not already owned by its parent company or held in treasury shares.
In return holders of the free-float stock will receive a mix of Zon Optimus shares and cash, which will equate to €2.45 per share, representing a 10% premium on Monday’s closing price.
In total Sonaecom will pay €217m (US$298.8m) for the 24.6% stake.
Earlier this year, Sonaecom merged its wireless subsidiary Optimus with cableco Zon Multimedia to create Portugal’s second largest telco, Zon Optimus. As part of this deal, it created a 50-50 joint venture with Zon’s largest shareholder Isabel Dos Santos. This vehicle holds 50% plus one share in the merged business, giving it management control.
Sonaecom holds another 37.5 million shares in Zon Optimus, outside of the vehicle.
These Zon Optimus shares are valued at around €190m and are the ones the holders of the 24.6% Sonaecom free-float shares will receive. Sonaecom said it was selling the shares as they were “not necessary to the pursuit of Sonaecom’s business purposes”.
Sonaecom is 73.92%-owned by Portuguese conglomerate Sonae, which is focused on retail. Sonaecom holds a further 1.52% as treasury shares. Last week Goldman Sachs revealed that it had acquired a 2.12% stake of the 24.6% of Sonaecom floating on the NYSE Euronext Lisbon.
In August French incumbent Orange sold its 20% stake in Sonaecom to Sonae for €113.5m. Orange and Sonae agreed a put and call option in February following the agreement of the Zon Optimus merger, which Sonae exercised once the tie-up won regulatory approval.
Following its buyout statement, Sonaecom’s shares have leapt by 10.3% since Tuesday morning to €2.46, marginally above Sonaecom’s offer price of €2.45. In the same timeframe Zon Optimus shares have risen by 4.8%.
