The boss of Ongoing, a leading Portugal Telecom shareholder, will vote against selling the telco’s share in Brasilcel to Telefonica, unless the Spanish incumbent ups its offer.
Ongoing CEO Nuno Vasconcellos says Telefonica’s revised offer of €6.5 billion for Portugal Telecom’s 50% stake in Brasilcel, which holds a majority stake in local cellco Vivo, doesn’t reflect the market value of the Brazilian carrier, or the benefits Telefonica will reap by combining Vivo with its fixed-line operator Telesp, FT.com reports.
Vasconcellos, whose firm owns a 7% stake in Portugal Telecom, called on the telco’s board to tell shareholders if they considered the offer to be fair, adding that any sale should raise enough to fund the Portuguese incumbent’s expansion into new areas.
A shareholders meeting has been scheduled for June 30 to discuss Telefonica’s offer, which the Spanish giant increased from an original bid of €5.7 billion.
Analysts at JP Morgan and Banif Investment Bank predict Telefonica could add €500 million to its current bid, Business Week reports.
Portugal Telecom’s CEO Zeinal Bava last week said Telefonica’s revised bid was too low.