Numericable-SFR, Altice in €3.9bn bid for Vivendi’s remaining stake

Numericable-SFR and its principal owner Altice has made a €3.9 billion offer to buy out Vivendi’s remaining stake in the company.

Under the terms of the proposed deal, which would take place following the Numericable-SFR shareholders’ meeting at the end of April, the pair would buy out Numericable’s 20% stake at a a price of €40 per share. Half of the purchase would be made by Numericable-SFR as part of a share buyback programme submitted to the company’s shareholders, with payment to be made in cash. The other half would be made by Altice France, to be paid by April 7 2016 at the latest, at an annual interest rate of 3.8% with a first-demand bank guarantee.

Vivendi’s management board will examine the offer over the next few days and will convene on February 27 to take a decision.

The price offered by Altice and Numericable-SFR represents a discount of almost 20% on the company’s current trading price, which is close to €50.