As KPN Sells EPlus, Carlos Slim Stretches Muscles

July 29th, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Just thirteen months after taking KPNs board of directors to remedial valuation school as it bought nearly 30% of the company despite protests it was paying too little, America Movil and its billionaire-in-chief seem to be preparing to make a few more waves. Last week Carlos Slim expressed the belief that the sale price for KPN’s E-Plus division was too low, and this week America Movil has now ended its relationship agreement with the Dutch incumbent.

Apparently the $8.1B deal that would send E-Plus to Telefonica also allowed America Movil the opportunity to shake things up again. Some rumors say they could make a move to buy all of KPN, others suggest they could sell out. The latter seems unlikely since it would book a big loss without ever giving the investment a chance to succeed, but I’m not sure Slim is ready to buy the whole thing either.

More likely, he’s simply looking to make a few waves and perhaps coerce a higher bid for E-Plus or just make trouble for Telefonica in general. Or perhaps he’s just reminding Europe that he’s still out there probing for further opportunities.

Categories: ILECs, PTTs · Mergers and Acquisitions

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