By Robin van Daalen
AMSTERDAM--Royal KPN N.V. (KPN.AE) said Tuesday it will sell its
German mobile E-Plus business to a unit of Spanish telecom group
Telefonica SA (TEF.MC), in a deal that values the unit at 8.1
billion euros ($10.7 billion) and will create Germany's largest
mobile-phone operator.
The Dutch telecom company will receive 5 billion euros in cash
and a 17.6% stake in Telefonica Deutschland.
The deal comes after months of speculation about a possible
tie-up of the companies' German units, which should enable them to
better compete with the top two telecom operators there, incumbent
Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE.XE) and Vodafone Group PLC (VOD).
Telefonica Deutschland, in a statement, confirmed the purchase
of KPN's German unit.
The combined firm will have annual revenues of over 8 billion
euros and total synergies are estimated to reach 5.0 billion to 5.5
billion euros, the companies said. Completion of the transaction is
dependent upon regulatory clearance and approval by KPN
shareholders.
Write to Robin van Daalen at robin.vandaalen@dowjones.com
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