KPN To Sell Some of Telefonica Deutschland Stake

By Ian Walker and Rory Gallivan

LONDON--Royal KPN N.V. (KPN.AE) said Tuesday it has sold 150 million shares of Telefonica Deutschland AG (O2D.XE) for 805 million Euros ($874.92 million), or EUR5.37 each.

The Dutch telecommunications group said late Monday it would sell the shares via an accelerated bookbuild offering to institutional investors, and distribute around 70% of the proceeds from the sale to its shareholders in 2016.

It will return the money via a dividend in the form of a capital repayment, and use the rest to strengthen its financial flexibility.

Prior to the sale, KPN had 610 million shares in Telefonica Deutschland, which offers mobile and fixed-line telecoms services in Germany and is part of the Spanish telecommunications group Telefonica S.A. (TEF).

Following the sale, KPN will hold 15.5% of Telefonica Deutschland's issued shares and has agreed a lock-in period for 90 days from settlement of the deal.

The transaction is expected to settle on Nov. 12.

-Write Ian Walker at [e-mail]; @IanWalk40289749 and Rory Gallivan at [e-mail]; Twitter: @RoryGallivan

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 10, 2015 03:32 ET (08:32 GMT)

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