Dutch telco KPN has reportedly received five first-round bids for Belgian mobile unit Base.
Belgian cableco Telenet, Belgian media group De Persgroep and private equity firms Blackstone, Providence and Cinven all submitted non-binding bids by the end of…
Dutch telco KPN has reportedly received five first-round bids for Belgian mobile unit Base.
Belgian cableco Telenet, Belgian media group De Persgroep and private equity firms Blackstone, Providence and Cinven all submitted non-binding bids by the end of July deadline, Reuters reported, citing unidentified sources familiar with the matter.
KPN CEO Eelco Blok has said the company hopes to find a buyer for Base – expected to sell for about €1.6bn to €1.8bn – by September, but will call off the sale if it deems offers unsatisfactory.
Carlos Slim’s America Movil (AMX), which recently increased its stake in KPN to 27.7%, has said it would prefer the Dutch telco to keep Base – Belgium’s third largest mobile operator behind Belgacom-owned Proximus and Mobistar.
KPN mandated JP Morgan to auction the Belgian unit in June and announced in late July that the sales process had begun.
It had been suggested earlier that Telenet intended to submit its bid with a financial partner.
De Persgroeup – which owns several Belgian and Dutch newspapers, a 50% stake in TV and radio group Viaamse Mediamaatschappij and, via the latter, local MVNO Jim Mobile – reportedly also prepared its bid with financial partners. The media group already has a relationship with KPN as Jim Mobile uses Base as its MNO.
KPN was not immediately available for comment.
