America Movil (AMX -1.77%), the giant Latin American mobile phone operator, today made a public offer to acquire the remainder of the shares it does not already own of Netherlands-based telecommunications company Royal KPN NV (KKPNY 1.40%).
America Movil says its cash offer of $3.21 per share of KPN is a "35.4% premium over the average closing price of KPN's ordinary shares on Euronext Amsterdam for the last 30 days." America Movil already controls 29.77% of KPN's shares, and the cost for the rest of KPN would be $9.6 billion.
Conditions attached to America Movil's offer are that at settlement it will control at least 50% of KPN's voting rights, and that there are no competing transactions.
The takeover attempt is complicated by KPN's agreement of two weeks ago to sell 100% of its interest in German mobile operator E-Plus to Telefonica's German operations for $6.68 billion plus a 17.6% stake in Telefonica Deutschland.
Many analysts believe Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, who owns America Movil, wants E-Plus for himself. E-Plus has a 15% stake in the German market that would be near-impossible to build from scratch.
KPN issued a short statement today saying it saw America Movil's press release announcing its KPN takeover plans and that it "will explore all strategic options open to KPN."
KPN also said it expects to convene an "Extraordinary General Meeting related to the sale of E-Plus to Telefonica Deutschland in the coming weeks."
America Movil said in its statement that it is "carefully evaluating the merits of the proposed [E-Plus] transaction and will make a final determination in relation to the exercise of its voting rights at the upcoming Extraordinary General meeting of KPN."
-- Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
