Atlas already has a 29% stake in Millicom, and two weeks ago, offered to purchase the remaining shares for $24 each
An independent committee representing Millicom’s board urged shareholders to turn down the offer from Xavier Niel’s Atlas Investissement to buyout the Latin America-focused operator group.
Atlas already has a 29% stake in Millicom, and two weeks ago, offered to purchase the remaining shares for $24 a share. Even then, Millicom’s board committee, rejected this price, arguing it is too low due to expected future financial performance. Therefore, the official recommendation to dismiss the offer, which was captured in regulatory statements filed this week, came as little surprise to those following the story.
The filing stated that the proposed price was “well below trading multiples for comparable listed companies” and, as previously indicated, did not “adequately take into account expectations based on Millicom’s long-range plan.” The company further claimed that it plans to generate equity free cash flow of $659 million, $701 million and $833 million in 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively.
Millicom, headquartered in Luxembourg, provides fixed and mobile telecom services under the Tigo brand to more than 50 million subscribers in Latin America. Specifically, it serves customers in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Paraguay. According to the carrier, it did $5.6 billion in sales last year.
Niel is the founder of French telecommunications provider Iliad Group.