French tycoon Xavier Niel explores buyout bid for Millicom
23/05/2024 17:39
May 23 (Reuters) - French billionaire Xavier Niel is
considering buying out telecom firm Millicom International
Cellular S.A. MICC.F , his investment vehicle Atlas
Investissement said on Thursday.
The company is exploring financing options to support an
offer price of $24 per common share, Atlas said.
Niel, the founder and owner of French telecom provider
Iliad, is the top shareholder of Millicom, which provides
telecom services in Latin America through its TIGO brand.
Atlas Investissement, a wholly-owned unit of Neil's NJJ
Holding, owns a 29% stake in Millicom, according to LSEG data.
Niel's potential move was first reported by Bloomberg News,
which said that the company's recent share price increases could
make it more difficult to finalize a deal.
U.S.-listed shares TIGO.O of Millicom gained about 33%
this year, giving the company a market value of more than $4
billion as of last close.
The Luxembourg-based telecom firm was in talks with Apollo
Global Management APO.N and Claure Group about a potential bid
for the company last year.
Niel increased his stake in Millicom amid those discussions,
which analysts considered as a strategic investment that would
pose additional hurdles to the Apollo deal.
The deal talks were terminated in June last year.
Niel has telecoms investments in nine countries in Europe
with nearly 50 million active subscribers combined and more than
10 billion euros of revenues, Atlas said.
Atlas Investissement said it was independent of Iliad Group
and Iliad Holding.
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru and Mathieu
Rosemain in Paris; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
((HarshitaMary.Varghese@thomsonreuters.com;))