Swisscom makes friendly bid for Fastweb Italy
Rating: Swisscom needs a strong acquisition and this could be it
Swisscom has been looking to purchase or collaborate with partners for a while now. Its been in and out of bed with Vodafone and Telekom Austria collaborations have never happened.
Now the company intends to make a all-cash friendly offer for 100% of Fastweb – Italy’s second largest fixed-network operator and IP leader. Fastweb also partners with Vodafone for the Vodafone Casa Fastweb services and there was rumours that Vodafone was interested in purchasing Fastweb.
Fastweb aims to be an MVNO in its own right in Italy and Swisscom says that if its successful the company will remain Fastweb and this MVNO decision will be supported. This is interesting as Italy is the hottest mobile market in Europe and there is room to play.
From the press release
Swisscom intends to launch an all-cash public tender offer on 100% of Fastweb at EUR 47 per share for a maximum total consideration of EUR 3.7 bn. The offer will be conditional, among others, on Swisscom achieving at least 50% + 1 share in Fastweb.
Swisscom plans to file the tender offer prospectus with Consob, the public authority responsible for regulating the Italian securities market. Swisscom seeks a recommendation of the Fastweb Board of Directors to Fastweb’ shareholders to accept its offer.
About Fastweb (2006 figures)
Italy’s leading alternative broadband supplier offering broadband access and services to both consumer and business customers
874,300 customers
EUR 578 million revenues
Related News:
One Response to “Swisscom makes friendly bid for Fastweb Italy”
response from Fastweb
Fastweb acknowledges receipt of offer from Swisscom
Comment made on March 12th, 2007 at 3:06 pmFurther to Fastweb’s positive statement from this morning on the offer made by Swisscom, we would like to further clarify the following.
With reference to the press release issued today in connection with the intended launch of a tender offer on all the shares of Fastweb, Swisscom provides the following additional information:
Swisscom is envisaging to file with CONSOB the tender offer prospectus by March 22, 2007.
The offer will be conditional upon (i) the receipt of all necessary regulatory and governmental approvals; (ii) reaching a minimum level of acceptances equal to at least 50% plus one share of Fastweb share capital; (iii) the absence of any actions by Fastweb (including capital increases of any nature and kind) that may jeopardize the offer; (iv) and the absence of any breach by SMS Finance S.A. of its undertaking to tender its shares to our offer and (v) the absence of any material adverse change in the national or international market conditions (including in such definition any material adverse changes or proposals of changes officially issued by the Parliament or the Government to the relevant existing regulatory framework).
In the event that, as a consequence of the offer, Swisscom comes to hold a participation exceeding 90% of Fastweb corporate capital, but lower than 98%, the same offeror will not re-establish the free float, but will launch the residual tender offer, pursuant to article 108 of the Italian Financial Act. Moreover, in the event that, as a consequence of the offer, Swisscom comes to hold a participation exceeding 98% of Fastweb corporate capital, it will exercise the purchase right to acquire the residual shares of Fastweb, pursuant to article 111 of the Italian Financial Act.
The offered price (equal to EUR 47 per share), assumes that, as currently expected, the payment of the extraordinary dividend that might be resolved by the general meeting of Fastweb, called on March 22/23, 2007, will take place after the closing of the offer.
Berne, 12 March 2007
Swisscom AG
Group Media Relations
CH-3050 Bern
Phone +41 31 342 91 93
Fax +41 31 342 07 30
E-Mail media@swisscom.com
http://www.swisscom.com
Leave a Comment