France Telecom already has a 70.6% stake in the ISP, but will offer nearly 4bn euros ($5.06bn) for the remaining 30% in a cash-and-shares bid.
The move comes as France Telecom’s core asset, its fixed-line operation, reflected the industry-wide decline with sales dropping nearly 6% last year. France Telecom, like most other fixed-line operators, is seeking alternative revenue streams to help negate the decline in fixed-line. It also wants to reap the rewards from internet growth, and to bolster its share of the broadband market.
If the buyout goes according to plan, France Telecom said it may consider a partial IPO of its Pages Jaunes business, which is the French equivalent of the Yellow Pages directory, possibly in the second quarter of this year.
Wanadoo was floated on the Paris bourse back in July 2000 at the height of the dot.com bubble. The flotation allowed the Paris, France-based company to use its highly valued shares to help pay for the disastrous acquisition spree that almost brought the carrier to its knees.
In the year to December 31, Wanadoo posted net income of 159m euros ($203.5m), up from income of 30m euros ($38.4m), on revenue 26.1% higher at 2.6bn euros ($3.3bn). Wanadoo also owns one of the UK’s largest ISPs, Freeserve.
This article is based on material originally published by ComputerWire
