The Hague, April 30 (Bloomberg) -- Royal KPN NV, the leading
Dutch phone company, said it's in talks with Telefonica SA that
could affect cellular operations, forcing it to postpone a $9.1
billion share sale of the mobile unit that was set for this week.
``The only thing I can say is we have also had talks with
Telefonica to explore possibilities'' as well as with other
companies, said Diederik Karsten, chief executive of KPN Mobile,
in an interview.
KPN Mobile, which became Europe's sixth-largest mobile-phone
company in December when it teamed with BellSouth Corp. to buy
control of Germany's E-Plus, aims to be among Europe's three
biggest mobile-phone companies. Telefonica -- Spain's biggest
phone company -- meanwhile, is also planning to sell shares in its
wireless businesses, which together have more than 15 million
users in Spain and Latin America.
Telefonica's executive committee has reviewed a proposal to
form a joint venture in which it would own 60 percent and KPN the
rest, the El Mundo newspaper reported earlier today. The venture
could develop into a full merger during the next year, it said.
Both companies declined to comment on the report. www.bloomberg.com/bbn/topsum.html?s=AOQv4AhP5S1BOIE1v
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