Free could soon be released from the Stock Exchange. Xavier Niel, founder of the telephone operator (and individual shareholder of the World), announced in a press release, Friday July 30, launch a simplified public takeover bid on the shares of the parent company, Iliad, created in 1999. He thus intends to extend his control over his group, in which he now directly and indirectly holds 70.63% of the capital and 78 , 67% of the voting rights.
This transaction is initiated by HoldCo II, a company controlled by Xavier Niel, which offers a repurchase price of 182 euros per share, or about 61% more than the closing price of Iliad on Thursday July 29, and 52.7% premium compared to the average share price weighted by volumes over the previous month.
The course of Iliad flew in the hours following the announcement on Friday, joining the announced repurchase price in the morning. The offer was unanimously validated by Iliad’s board of directors. In addition to its founder, the senior executives and historical shareholders of Iliad have undertaken to contribute their shares, for a final total of 74.9% of the capital and 83.6% of the voting rights of the group.
Accelerate investments
If all goes as Xavier Niel wishes, and subject to the green light from the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the shares presented for the offer will represent more than 90% of the capital and voting rights of Iliad at the planned closing date of the offer, September 23. HoldCo II may then ask the AMF “The implementation of a squeeze-out procedure” of its listing on the Paris Stock Exchange, as it announced in its press release.
“I am very proud of the group’s journey and of the value created for all the shareholders”, affirms Xavier Niel in his press release. Corn “Iliad’s new phase of development requires rapid transformations and significant investments which will be more easily carried out as an unlisted company”, he justifies himself, displaying the ambition to make his group a “Leader in telecommunications in Europe”. “This will allow us to accelerate our investments in fiber, in 5G and in other countries”, welcomes the World Thomas Reynaud, Managing Director of Iliad.
This capital movement is, according to him for the group “A way of giving time to time” to pursue its long-term objectives, away from market pressure. Xavier Niel can also argue for the good results of his group. In the first half of 2021, it achieved a net profit of 239 million euros, up 14.6% year on year. Sixth European mobile operator in terms of number of subscribers, it has a little over 42 million customers in France, Italy and Poland (mobile and fixed Internet combined).
This Iliad move appears to be part of a larger trend in the industry. In January, billionaire Patrick Drahi had already withdrawn from the stock market his group, Altice, which notably owns SFR and BFM-TV. Mr. Drahi had also motivated his decision by strategic reasons, arguing that he could thus focus on long-term objectives without fear of seeing his quarterly performance scrutinized by the markets.