Spanish telecoms group Telefonica announced on Tuesday that it has decided to make a voluntary public acquisition offer through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Telefonica Local Services, in the form of a partial offer to the shareholders of Telefonica Deutschland Holding. The offer is to acquire up to 28.19 percent of Telefonica Deutschland shares that are not already held (directly or indirectly) by Telefonica.
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Offer Details
The offer price of EUR 2.35 per Telefonica Deutschland share represents a premium of approximately 37.6 percent over the closing price of the shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on November 6, 2023, and a premium of 36.3 percent over the preceding three-month volume-weighted average price of the shares.
Telefonica's Strategic Focus
In a press release, Telefonica said the offer reinforces Telefonica's strategy to focus on its core geographies (Spain, Brazil, Germany, and the UK) and highlights its strong commitment to the German market while also supporting Telefonica's efforts to simplify the group's structure.
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Current Shareholding
According to Telefonica, it currently holds approximately 71.81 percent of the shares in Telefonica Deutschland, both directly and indirectly, and additionally holds instruments that grant the right to acquire approximately 1.32 percent of the shares in Telefonica Deutschland.
Offer Period and Premium
The Offer will not be subject to a minimum acceptance threshold, and the offer period is expected to commence upon the publication of the offer document in December 2023, running until mid-January 2024. Telefonica believes the offer provides an attractive opportunity for Telefonica Deutschland shareholders to realise a significant cash premium.
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Telefonica Operations
Telefonica offers fixed and mobile connectivity, along with a wide range of digital services for residential and business customers. The company operates in Europe and Latin America, serving approximately 384 million customers. In Germany, Telefonica Deutschland serves more than 44 million mobile users, including 1.7 million M2M connections and 2.3 million broadband connections.
