KPN CEO Eelco Blok indicated an interest in making an acquisition in Germany if the market consolidates there. "If something is available and the price is right we will look at it," Blok said at a conference this week in Brussels, according to Bloomberg.
While Blok said that KPN's German E-Plus unit is not for sale, Robin Bienenstock, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said in an investors note carried by Bloomberg that there is a "material risk" KPN will be left out of potential consolidation, and will become a distant third in the German market.
Bienenstock believes that the legal issues facing Deutsche Telekom over its sale of T-Mobile USA to AT&T could open the door to consolidation in the German mobile market, giving KPN and others an opportunity to build their presence.
KPN's E-Plus subsidiary, which has over 21 million mobile customers in Germany, added 558,000 new users in the second quarter pushing its market share (by service revenue) to 15.8 per cent, a rise of 0.1 per centover the year-ago quarter.
The Dutch telco had earlier indicated an interest in merging with Belgium's Belgacom. However, Blok has now dismissed this idea. I doubt that the Belgium society would allow us to do the same [as] in Germany," he said, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
For more:
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this Dow Jones Newswires article
- see this Telecom Paper article (sub. req.)
Related Articles:
Rumour Mill: Deutsche Telekom pushes for Belgacom stake
KPN CEO predicts return of acquisition opportunities
KPN stumbles in Q2, blames rise in smartphone apps
KPN lowers 2011 outlook, plans to cut 5,000 Dutch employees