UPDATE: Telefonica,Portugal Telecom Sell 32.18% Meditel Stakes
September 01 2009 - 5:31AM
Dow Jones News
Spain's Telefonica SA (TEF) and Portugal Telecom SGPS SA (PT)
said Tuesday they had agreed to each sell their 32.18% stakes in
their Moroccan telecommunications unit Medi Telecom SA, or
Meditel.
Local Meditel shareholders FinanceCom SA, RMA Watanya SA and
Fipar Holding, jointly will pay EUR400 million both to Telefonica
and to Portugal Telecom, according to filings made to the Spanish
and Portuguese stock market regulators.
Portugal Telecom will have an after-tax capital gain of EUR270
million from the sale of its stake, a company press official
said.
Telefonica couldn't immediately say what size of gain it had
made.
"After a very successful experience in Meditel, Telefonica
considers that it is the appropriate time to crystallize the value
created throughout this decade in Morocco," Telefonica said in a
release, adding that it and Portugal Telecom have been present in
the shareholding of Meditel for more than 10 years.
The transaction assumes an enterprise value of EUR1.62 billion
for 100% of Meditel, Portugal Telecom said.
Analysts at Banco Portugues de Investimento said the price for
each Meditel stake is above BPI's implicit equity valuation of
EUR235 million.
Meditel represents 0.3% and 3.7% of BPI's equity valuation for
Telefonica and PT, respectively. BPI has an "accumulate" rating and
EUR17.59 target price for Telefonica, and a "reduce" rating and
EUR7.21 target price for PT.
At 0838 GMT, Telefonica shares were down 0.1% at EUR17.57, while
Portugal Telecom was up 1.3% at EUR7.305.
The Moroccan telecommunications regulator still needs to approve
the sale.
Telefonica expects the transaction to be completed by the end of
the year.
Company Web site: www.telefonica.com
-By Bernd Radowitz, Dow Jones Newswires, 34 913958120,
djmadrid@dowjones.com