Vodafone secures shares for Kabel Deutschland takeover

Operator group Vodafone’s €7.7bn bid for German cable company Kabel Deutschland has been accepted by shareholders owning 75 per cent of the firm, the required minimum acceptance condition. The bid had already been approved by the cable firm’s board in June this year.

Vodafone’s offer values Kabel Deutschland at €87 per share. By meeting the minimum requirement, there will be a further, two-week acceptance period between September 17, 2013 and September 30, 2013, in which, in accordance with the German Securities Acquisition and Takeover Act, Kabel Deutschland shareholders who have not yet accepted the offer will be able to still sell their shares. Vodafone will publish the final acceptance ratio on September 16, 2013.

The two firms plan to offer premium unified communications services to consumer and enterprise customers. They believe that they could create an integrated communications operator that generates around €11.5bn in revenue each year in Germany.

Vodafone said that if the deal goes through, it will have 32.4 million mobile, five million broadband and 7.6 million direct TV customers in Germany. The completion of the takeover remains subject to antitrust approval.