Spanish cable operator Ono’s board of directors gave the green light to proceed with an IPO in a meeting held on 11 February, at the same time deferring a takeover approach from Vodafone, according to unnamed sources close to the matter cited by Reuters. In addition, the board agreed to call a shareholders meeting by mid-March because shareholders also need to approve the IPO. One source said the plan was to first carry out a capital increase of EUR 800 million and later sell existing shares for a total amount of at least EUR 200 million before listing immediately before Easter. That would give potential suitors such as Liberty Global and Vodafone, which is said to have offered around EUR 6.9 billion for the Spanish company, a timeframe of about four weeks before the IPO process starts.
According to reports, Ono foresees a valuation of EUR 7 billion to EUR 8 billion, including debt, based on the price Liberty paid to buy Dutch cable operator Ziggo last month. However, sources with knowledge of the matter have said that any buyer could have to pay up to EUR 9 billion to convince Ono's owners to drop their plans for a stock market flotation.
