Through four separate transactions, América Móvil purchased six million shares in KPN at a price of €7.80 per share, increasing its stake to 7.30%.
The purchase is the second in less than two weeks with América Móvil having previously increased its stake to 5.01%.
KPN is opposed to Slim’s bid to increase his stake in the company to 27.7%, stating that his €8 per share purchase offer substantially undervalues the company. The Dutch carrier faces the challenge of convincing shareholders to reject Slim’s offer for the purchase period, which has a deadline of June 27.
Among the options being considered to make KPN less attractive to América Móvil are the spin-off of KPN’s German business E-Plus which could add enough value to KPN’s share price to deter the bid.
Coordination and synergies with Telefónica’s German operator O2 are considered a possibility by analysts after Telefónica announced it was seeking a sale of the unit at the end of last month.
Under Dutch law a bidder is required to buy all shares in a company once it goes over the 30% ownership threshold. Slim’s bid, if successful, would place him just under that threshold but still allow significant influence over decision making, according to KPN.
