Buyout Firms Team Up on More Than $15 Billion KPN Bid

By Cara Lombardo, Ben Dummett and Miriam Gottfried 

A pair of private-equity firms have teamed up to make a bid for Royal KPN NV that could value the Dutch communications-services provider at more than $15 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

New York-based Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners and Sweden's EQT AB are working on a bid that could be valued at more than EUR3, equivalent to $3.56, a share some of the people said. KPN shares closed Wednesday at EUR2.88 in European trading. The funds are preparing to conduct due diligence with the goal of submitting a formal bid this spring. It's possible they could take on another partner and that they will face competition, these people said.

There are no guarantees the parties will follow through, and if they do, that they will reach an agreement. Adding a layer of complication, the Dutch government would need to sign off on any deal.

KPN is the largest telecommunications operator in the Netherlands, offering mobile telephony, data and television services to customers across the country. KPN's business also includes a wholesale operation that leases fixed and mobile networks to other carriers that don't operate their own networks.

Bloomberg in November reported that EQT had made an approach to KPN.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 07, 2021 16:42 ET (20:42 GMT)

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