Belgium-based telecommunications company, Proximus, has announced its plans to purchase a 57.56% stake in Indian telecommunication service provider, Route Mobile. The deal, valued at 59.22 billion rupees ($721 million), is expected to bring significant scale and synergies to Proximus and its subsidiary, Telesign.
Route Mobile’s strong presence in the Indian subcontinent, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America perfectly complements Telesign’s operations in Europe and North America. The transaction is set to be finalized within the next six to nine months, subject to regulatory and antitrust approvals.
Upon acquiring the majority stake, Proximus will be required to make a mandatory takeover offer for up to 26% of Route’s outstanding shares, at the same price per share. This could potentially increase Proximus Opal’s shareholding in Route to approximately 75%.
Following the majority stake acquisition and mandatory takeover, some of Route’s founding shareholders plan to reinvest around 299.6 million euros ($336.4 million) in Proximus Opal, in exchange for up to 14.5% of the share capital.
Considering the reinvestment, Proximus will make a cash consideration of approximately EUR343.4 million prior to the mandatory takeover.
