Investors EQT and Stonepeak are working together on a possible takeover bid for Dutch operator KPN, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. The deal could value the company at over EUR 3 per share, compared to KPN's last closing price of EUR 2.88.
Sweden-based EQT is already active in the Netherlands, owning the second-largest FTTH operator Delta Fiber, and has been previously linked to a potential KPN bid. Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners is based in New York, with acquisitions including the US cable operator Astound Broadband, Canada's Xplornet and EuNetworks.
The funds are preparing to conduct due diligence with the goal of submitting a formal bid this spring, the report said. It is possible that they could take on another partner and that they will face competition, according to the WSJ's sources.
More suitors
EQT was first reported last October to be considering a friendly offer for KPN. Over a year before, the infrastructure investor Brookfield was also rumoured to be mulling an offer, perhaps in cooperation with a Dutch pension fund. More recently KPN partnered with the Dutch pension manager ABP to start a new joint venture for expanding its FTTH network to smaller towns.
KPN has been the target of takeovers before. The company in 2013 refused an offer from America Movil, which still has a 20 percent stake in KPN. To stop the acquisition, an independent foundation was set up to protect the interests of KPN stakeholders. The foundation temporarily took about half of KPN shares in order to block America Movil’s move. The Dutch government followed in 2020 with a law giving it the right to veto takeovers of key Dutch ICT companies if it sees a potential negative impact on national interests.
