PT Portugal EUR 7.4bn acquisition from Oi by Altice faces delays with Portugal Telecom corruption probe - reports
Portugal Telecom (PT) is likely to put back a 12 January shareholders' meeting to vote on the sale of PT Portugal by Oi to Altice because of a police investigation, reported Diario Economico. Sources familiar with the situation told the Lusophone daily that Menezes Cordeiro, chairman of the PT AGM, is in contract with investors to delay next week's meeting scheduled to vote on the sale of PT Portugal for EUR 7.4bn.
PT's Lisbon headquarters have been raided by police as part of an investigation into alleged fraud centred on the group's relations with the former Espirito Santo Group. The investigation was ordered by the CMVM Portuguese Securities Commission. In 2014, PT bought around EUR 900m debt from Rioforte, part of the collapsed Espirito Santo business group.
PT was reportedly mulling a 20% stake in Altice's vehicle to acquire PT Portugal, the Portuguese operations of the merged PT-Oi. Jornal de Negocios reported that the police investigation into PT is also aimed to recover a PwC audit on the group, which contains full details of the defaulted Rioforte debt transaction.
Diario Economico, Jornal de Negocios