Polish broadcaster Cyfrowy Polsat announced that it has placed two purchase orders for shares in Netia, one for approximately 63.41 million shares from Mennica Polska and the other for some 47.29 million shares from investment fund FIP 11 Fundusz Inwestycyjny Zamkniety Aktywow Niepublicznych. These shares represent 33 percent of voting rights at Netia less one share, assuming that Netia redeems its treasury shares. Cyfrowy Polsat said it intends to raise this gradually to up to 66 percent, after securing approval from the Polish competition regulator.
The purchase price in each of the orders is PLN 5.77 per Netia share, or in aggregate PLN 638.75 million. This is a premium on Netia's recent share price of around PLN 4.25.
The deal suggests Cyfrowy Polsat is preparing to expand in the fixed broadband market. The company already owns mobile operator Polkomtel and offers home broadband services over the LTE network. A full takeover and integration of Netia would help it compete better with incumbent Orange Poland in the bundling of fixed, mobile and TV services as well as strengthen its position in big cities where cable networks are present.
The FIP 11 fund and Mennica Polska (the Polish Mint) are the two largest shareholders in Netia. According to Netia's website, they hold respectively 24.3 and 18.0 percent of shares and voting rights.
