Vodafone Group is conducting accelerated due diligence of Ono ahead of a potential takeover of the Spanish cableco after it raised its proposed offer to €7bn at the end of last week.
Ono is still preparing for a shareholder meeting on Thursday where…
Vodafone Group is conducting accelerated due diligence of Ono ahead of a potential takeover of the Spanish cableco after it raised its proposed offer to €7bn at the end of last week.
Ono is still preparing for a shareholder meeting on Thursday where investor are set to vote on whether the operator should pursue an IPO, yet Vodafone’s latest offer is said to have “focused minds”, a person familiar with the matter told TelecomFinance.
Ono is ready to formalise Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan’s roles as the banks leading the flotation at Thursday’s meeting, but Vodafone could make a binding offer before then, the person said.
The Spanish operator rebuffed Vodafone in early February after informal talks and decided to press ahead with an IPO. Vodafone was reported to have initially proposed offers that valued Ono at €6bn and €6.5bn.
Vodafone’s CEO, Vittorio Colao, was reported to have brokered the €7bn deal last week, which would be Vodafone’s first acquisition since it offloaded its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless for US$130bn.
Both Vodafone and Ono declined to comment on the situation.
An acquisition of Ono would fit with Vodafone’s strategy to acquire fixed-line operators in markets where it already offers mobile services. Last year it paid €7.7bn for 76% of Kabel Deutschland in Germany, where it already offered mobile services. Vodafone is the number two mobile operator in Spain after incumbent Telefonica.
Ono is 54.4%-owned by investment firms Providence Equity Partners, Thomas H. Lee, CCMP and Quadrangle, which invested €1bn into the company in 2005. The rest of its stock is held by other institutional investors.
