Telefonica held stake sale talks with Qatari investors
Telefonica, the listed Spanish telco, held talks at the end of 2014 with Qatari investors over a possible acquisition of Telefonica shares, according to a newswire report.
The discussions focussed on a possible capital increase aimed at cutting Telefonica's EUR 45bn in debt, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The terms offered by Telefonica did not meet the requirements of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund and the talks came to nothing, the report said. Telefonica itself also halted discussions as it turned its attention to finding a buyer for its UK unit O2, the report continued.
Telefonica may revive the capital increase plan if its talks with possible O2 buyer Hutchison Whampoa fail to result in an agreement, one of the people said.