Altice secures financing from JP Morgan, CS and Deutsche for PT; Oi minorities disgruntled
Altice [AMS:ATC] has secured financing from JP Morgan, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank for its EUR 7.03bn bid for PT Portugal, confirmed a person close to the situation.
The cable and telecoms group is being advised by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Perella Weinberg Partners on its bid.
Oi [BVMF: OIBR3], which is in the process of merging with Portugal Telecom SGPS SA (PT SGPS SA) [LIS:PT], early yesterday (Monday) morning received the binding bid from Altice for its Portuguese subsidiary PT Portugal. Oi released a statement saying it will analyze the bid.
A source close to a potential rival bidder complained that Altice is trying to dry up the investment banking market and has managed to get exclusives with the banks it is working with. Altice typically agrees exclusive contracts with banks, confirmed the person close.
The sale of PT Portugal may also see a backlash from Oi minority shareholders. But, according to a person familiar with Oi, there will not be a general shareholders' meeting to vote on the sale of PT Portugal, but only a private meeting between controlling shareholders, including Telemar, to decide.
Oi's minority shareholders are more disgruntled now than when the merger between Oi and PT was announced, according to one minority shareholder. "The merger was based on so many "synergies", and now they are selling the company, which proves that this was a scam to pay the debts of the controlling shareholders in Telemar at the expense of shareholders in general," claimed the shareholder.
While minority shareholders in Oi are not expected to have a say, shareholders in PT SGPS will not only have a say - they have veto power. PT SGPS SA, the holding company that before the merger owned PT Portugal and now owns a 25.6% stake in Oi, is the largest individual shareholder of Oi and is part of a shareholder pact that requires a unanimous vote on certain decisions.
A second person close to the situation believed the Portuguese shareholders may vote against Altice’s offer and that alternative offers were taking shape.
One of these is a consortium led by former PT (and Oi) CEO Zeinal Bava, who is bringing together some PT SGPS shareholders such as Bain Capital. Another is UK private equity group Apax with a group of Portuguese businessmen that are in talks with another large fund, the person said.
Apax is using Vieira de Almeida as its legal advisor. It is understood that Bain is working with Abreu Advogados.