Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Communications Inc.'s largest shareholder is quashing a bid from a New York firm that offered $10.3-billion to buy the telecommunications companies.
Gestion Audem Inc. said Wednesday that it does not intend to sell its shares and will not support the unsolicited proposal from Altice USA Inc., which wanted to buy the companies and strike a side deal with Rogers Communications Inc. to sell their Canadian assets for $4.9 billion.
Gestion Audem owners, the Audet family, hold 69 per cent of all voting rights of Cogeco and 82.9 per cent of all voting rights of Cogeco Communications and Louis Audet is executive chairman of the companies.
Gestion Audem's statement comes hours after Altice announced it had made an all-cash cash offer including $800 million for ownership interests and voting shares held by Louis Audet and his family.
Altice would pay $106.53 per share for the remaining Cogeco Inc. subordinate voting shares and $134.22 per share for each Cogeco Communications Inc. subordinate voting share.
The offer is a roughly 30 per cent premium on each stock's one-month volume-weighted average.
Altice has also entered into an arrangement to sell Cogeco's Canadian assets to Rogers, the Montreal-based company's largest long-term shareholder, if its Cogeco bid is accepted.
Rogers would pay $4.9 billion — a total that would be fully financed though the company's existing cash reserves.
"Under the stewardship of Mr. Audet, the Audet family, and the 4,500 Cogeco team members, Cogeco has built an iconic company in Canada and the United States," Rogers president and chief executive Joe Natale said in a statement.
"This meaningful offer reflects the tremendous accomplishments of the Audet family and Cogeco’s employees."
If Altice's transaction is accepted by Cogeco and the Rogers deal goes through, Altice would still own all the U.S. assets of Cogeco, including Atlantic Broadband, a cable operator providing residential and business customers with broadband, video and telephony services in 11 U.S. states.
A statement from Cogeco said the non-binding proposal will be submitted to and reviewed by the corporations' boards of directors Wednesday.
The proposal caused Cogeco Inc.'s shares to shoot up by almost 20 per cent to reach $94.57 in early afternoon trading, while Cogeco Communications Inc.'s reached 114.37, an increase of more than 15 per cent. Rogers's hit $54.94, an almost five per cent increase.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2020.
Companies in this story: (TSX:CCA, TSX:CGO, TSX:RCI.B)
Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiS2h0dHBzOi8vY2EuZmluYW5jZS55YWhvby5jb20vbmV3cy9uZXdzYWxlcnQtdS1maXJtLW1ha2VzLWJpZC0xMzQ3MDM2NDYuaHRtbNIBU2h0dHBzOi8vY2EuZmluYW5jZS55YWhvby5jb20vYW1waHRtbC9uZXdzL25ld3NhbGVydC11LWZpcm0tbWFrZXMtYmlkLTEzNDcwMzY0Ni5odG1s?oc=5
2020-09-02 15:38:00Z
52781037353623
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar