KPN bids to buy Getronics

Monday 30 July 2007

Telecoms group KPN has made a €6.25 a share cash offer to take over troubled IT services group Getronics. In addition, KPN is to pay €415m to take over debt and preference shares.

The offer is almost 25% higher than Getronics closing share price on Friday.

Getronics management and supervisory boards support the bid. KPN has pledged to continue Getronic's current strategy. It says several hundred jobs will go.

If the offer succeeds, KPN will name its own management team and Getronic's controversial CEO Klaas Wagenaar will quit.

KPN said the deal was part of its strategy to move from communications links to more value-added services. 'There have been major changes at Getronics. They have divested a lot of assets that we think they should have divested,' KPN CEO Ad Scheepbouwer said during a conference call.

Two weeks ago, Getronics let it be known that takeover talks with an unnamed US company had broken down.

KPN also presented its second quarter earnings on Monday. Profit before tax, write-offs and interest was down almost 1% at €1.28bn.

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