Mexico's Slim gains Europe foothold with Austrian Telekom deal

Mexican telecoms billionaire Carlos Slim looked on Thursday to have at last secured a firm European foothold with a deal giving him effective control of Telekom Austria, six months after failing to acquire the Dutch KPN. Under the terms of a shareholder accord struck after a marathon meeting late on Wednesday, Slim's America Movil (AMX) will combine its 26.8-percent stake in Telekom Austria with the 28.4 percent owned by the Austrian state. Pending regulatory approval, this will clear the way for AMX to make a public offer for all outstanding shares of Telekom Austria at 7.15 euros per share, AMX and Telekom Austria said in a joint statement. AMX will then obtain "operational responsibilities" in Telekom Austria, which has some 20 million mobile customers spread across Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Liechtenstein and Slovenia. Both AMX and the Austrian government's holding company OeIAG will also support a capital increase of one billion euros ($1.4 billion), the statement said. AMX chief executive Daniel Hajj said the deal would help "better position Telekom Austria as a more relevant player in the European telecommunication markets and .. benefit from growth opportunities in the region". In October Slim, one of the world's richest men, was forced to abandon a multi-billion-euro hostile takeover bid for KPN, one of the largest fixed and mobile operators in The Netherlands and the third-biggest in Germany and Belgium. Telekom Austria shares soared on Thursday morning, reaching by 9:30 am (0730 GMT) 7.10 euros, up 6.84 percent. Analysts at Berenberg Bank called Slim's bid price "generous". Trade union representatives on the OeIAG's board had boycotted Wednesday's meeting with AMX, saying they had only one day to study the proposed deal and that Slim's company had given no guarantees on jobs.