Contrary to a Reuters report, a bid for the spin-off of GVT from Vivendi SA (EPA:VIV) was not put forward by Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA) (NASDAQ:LBTYB). A spokesperson for the media company said in a statement today, “As a matter of policy, we do not comment on M&A rumours, but we can confirm that we did not table a bid for GVT.”
John Malone’s Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA) (NASDAQ:LBTYB) apparently did not compete with the other bidders, which included the satellite group, DIRECTV (NASDAQ:DTV), America Movil SAB de CV (NASDAQ:AMOV), and a group of private equity funds. The bidders offered in the range of 6 billion euros for GVT. Reuters sources reveal that all bids were less than 7 billion euros and were therefore below what Vivendi was expecting to generate from this sale.
GVT’s network is established in 120 Brazilian cities. The company provides fixed telephone lines, TV cable, and broadband services.
Telecom Italia S.p.A. (BIT:TIT) (NYSE:TI) is also expected to place a bid after December 6, when a decision is made in the board meeting. The bidding is expected to close in January, so who knows, Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA) (NASDAQ:LBTYB) could table a bid later.
Vivendi SA (EPA:VIV) expressed intentions to sell off GVT in the third quarter. Initially the reports were that if Vivendi is unable to generate suitable bids, it will put up a public offering of shares in GVT. Rothschild and Deutsche Bank AG are brokering the bidding process for Vivendi. GVT was acquired by France’s Vivendi SA (EPA:VIV) in 2009, after a bidding race with Spain’s Telefonica. After experiencing a dip in the second quarter of this year, Vivendi’s stock is almost flat year to date.
