Portuguese authorities said they conducted a search of Portugal Telecom’s offices as part of a fraud investigation. Newspaper Diaro Economico reported that the PT shareholder assembly to approve the sale of PT assets to France’s Altice could be delayed because an audit of PT’s relationship with the Espirto Santo group is not ready. The vote was originally scheduled for Jan. 12.
Following news of the search, shares of Portugual Telecom SGPS tumbled 10%.
PT ran into financial trouble last year after investing nearly $1.1 billion in commercial paper issued by Rio Forte, a holding company of the Espirito Santo family. Rio Forte subsequently went bankrupt, defaulting on the debt.
PT was in the process of merging with the Brazilian carrier Oi when Altice, the holding company owned by French billionaire Patrick Drahi, stepped in with a plan to buy Oi’s stake in PT — minus the bad Rio Forte debt.
In December, Altice announced it had signed an agreement with Oi that valued the PT assets at $8.8 billion on a cash and debt-free free basis. It included a $590.7 million consideration related to PT’s future revenue generation. The deal excluded PT’s African holdings, the Rio Fort debt securities, Oi treasury shares and PT financing vehicles. Oi’s board approved the agreement, but the deal still needs approval by PT shareholders.
More telecom news from Europe:
Kabel Deutschland partners with Cisco on a converged broadcast, IP and OTT video service. Kabel Deutschland, which is owned by Vodafone, and its technology partner Cisco announced plans to provide a next-generation video service designed to draw personalized content from both the television and the Internet through a multiscreen, cloud-powered platform. The service is expected to be market-ready in the 2016/17 fiscal year. The announcement was made at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and Kabel Deutschland promised to reveal more details at IFA 2015, which is scheduled to be held in Berlin beginning Sept. 4.
Du and Anite launch Terminal Innovation Lab in United Arab Emirites. Dubai-based telecom service provider Du launched the lab equipped with Anite’s device and network test solutions on Jan. 6. The Terminal Innovation Lab, which is described as the first of its kind in the region, is designed to improve mobile device testing and validation to enhance the user’s experience.
O2 Czech Republic may spin-off its infrastructure into a separate company. The Czech Republic’s largest telecom provider is considering creating a separate company for its fixed and mobile infrastructure. O2 Czech, which is majority-owned by billionaire Petr Kellner’s PPF Group NV, issued a statement saying it’s conducting a feasibility study of the separation. The new company would provide wholesale services to other telecommunications companies in the market.
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