Africa’s richest woman Isabel dos Santos has reportedly withdrawn her $1.5 billion takeover bid for Portugal Telecom SGPS SA, after the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM) ruled last week that she had to raise the offer price.
According to a report by Reuters, Terra Peregrin, an investment company owned by Dos Santos, said on Tuesday that it has decided to withdraw its offer after careful consideration, due to CMVM’s ruling.
In November, Isabel Dos Santos, who is worth at least $3.7 billion by FORBES’ estimates, launched a $1.68 a share offer for each of the 896 million shares of Portugal Telecom (PT) SGPS SA, a company that owns a 25.7% stake in Brazilian telecom operator Oi. She made the offer through Terra Peregrin.
But CMVM was quick to invoke Article 188 of the Portuguese Securities Code, which states that the bidding price for a listed Portuguese company must be the share’s average price over the last six months at the very least. Portugal Telecom SGPS SA’s average share price over the last six months has been 1.94 euros (or $2.37) – roughly 43% higher than the Angolan businesswoman’s offer price.
Terra Peregrin had initially pleaded for an exemption from the rule, arguing that a July debt default by Rioforte, a holding company owned by PT SGPS, had caused PT SGPS shares to plunge since July, making the rule inapplicable. CMVM dismissed the argument.
As published on Forbes