Investment group PPF seeks to raise O2 Czech Republic stake
PRAGUE, June 23 (Reuters) - Czech investment company PPF is seeking to raise its stake in telecoms group O2 Czech Republic to more than 90% from 83.6% and aims to delist the shares from the Prague bourse, it said on Wednesday.
O2 Czech Republic is the country's fourth-largest company with a market capitalisation of 80.9 billion crowns ($3.81 billion).
Since 2014 the telecoms group has been controlled by PPF - the investment group of Czech billionaire Petr Kellner, who died in a helicopter crash in March.
"PPF aims to acquire a more than 90% stake in O2 CR and subsequently initiate a squeeze-out procedure of minority shareholders in O2 CR through a mandatory tender offer for their shares," the group said.
PPF will offer to buy the shares via a reverse bookbuilding process at a maximum price of 264 crowns per share. Shareholders will retain a right to a 2020 dividend and share premium payout.
The shares closed at 269 crowns on Wednesday, down 0.7%.
PPF said its offer, aimed at qualified investors and international institutional investor, comes amid a continual decline in trading volumes for the stock, with the average daily volume reaching 9.3 million crowns this year.
($1 = 21.2520 Czech crowns) (Reporting by Jason Hovet. Editing by Jane Merriman)
