Telefonica (TEF 0.39%) will soon no longer be in possession of its Central European subsidiary, Telefonica Czech Republic. The Spanish firm has sold the majority of the unit to privately held Prague-based financial conglomerate PPF, both companies announced in separate press releases.
The total price is just under 2.47 billion euros ($3.33 billion) in cash. Slightly over 2.06 billion euros ($2.78 billion) is to be paid on the completion of the deal, and the remainder over the course of the next four years.
At the moment, Telefonica owns 70.8% of the subsidiary, which also includes operations in neighboring Slovakia. PPF will acquire a 65.9% stake, with Telefonica holding on to 4.9%.
The divestment is part of an overall initiative from the Spanish company aimed at rationalizing its business. In its press release, the firm said that "it continues to successfully execute its strategy of increasing financial flexibility and strengthening the operations in its core markets."
The transaction is subject to approval from the relevant regulatory bodies.
Earlier, Telefonica Czech Republic announced its Q3 results. It posted revenue of 11.67 billion crowns ($609 million) and net profit of 1.35 billion crowns ($70 million). That compares unfavorably to the 12.59 billion crowns ($657 million) and 1.76 billion crowns ($92 million), respectively, the subsidiary reported in the same period the previous year.
