Chinese telecom market keeps consolidating and recently Spanish Telefonica, known for its O2 and Movistar brands in some parts of the world, announced that it has reached an agreement with AllianceBernstein L.P. to acquire an additional stake of up to approximately 5.74% of the share capital of China Netcom Group.
The acquisition will be structured in two tranches, the first tranche will be in respect of shares representing approximately 2.71% of the issued share capital of CNC as of the date hereof; and the second tranche will be in respect of a number of shares in CHINA UNICOM LIMITED issued after its merger with CNC in exchange of shares representing up to a 3.03% stake in CNC. The completion of the second tranche of the acquisition is subject to certain conditions, including but not limited to the successful completion of the scheme of arrangement of CNC (the “Scheme”) through which CNC will be merged with CU.
After the first tranche acquisition, which will be closed in the following days, Telefonica will pay approximately 368 million euros and will end up owning 9.9% of China Netcom Group…