America Movil seeks 28% stake in KPN

Mexican telecommications giant America Movil, controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim, on Tuesday announced an offer of eight euros a share for a 28-percent stake in Dutch telecoms operator KPN. The price offered is 23.5 percent higher than the Dutch company's last listed share price, the company said in a statement, adding that it planned to make the offer by early June at the latest. America Movil said it currently owns 68.3 million KPN shares or about 4.8 percent, which would mean it could buy up to an additional 330 million shares valued at 2.64 billion euros, Dow Jones Newswires reported. "America Movil's investment in KPN represents its first significant investment in Europe," America Movil said, adding that KPN had an "attractive position in important European markets". America Movil describes itself as the leading provider of wireless services in Latin America, claiming 246 million wireless subscribers in the Americas. It said it expects to develop a "constructive long-term relationship" with KPN management and shareholders and "explore with KPN areas for potential cooperation, including but not limited to, roaming, procurement, distribution of content and marketing arrangements". KPN, which employs 31,000 people, in January announced a 14 percent slide in net profit to 1.55 billion euros while sales dipped by 1.8 percent to 13.16 billion euros. Slim, 72, in March topped the Forbes rich list for a third consecutive year with a fortune of $69 billion.