Bellsouth Corp
30 January 2002
FOR MORE INFORMATION FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jeff Battcher (404) 713-0274
BELLSOUTH RESTRUCTURES AGREEMENT WITH KPN
Atlanta - January 30, 2002 - BellSouth (NYSE: BLS) and Royal KPN N.V. (AEX: KPN)
today have signed a definitive agreement restructuring their relationship. Under
the new agreement, BellSouth exchanges its 22.51% stake in German mobile
operator E-Plus into 234.7 million KPN ordinary shares. After conversion this
represents 9.42% of KPN's 2,491 million outstanding shares. As part of the
transaction BellSouth has surrendered its existing warrant on KPN shares and its
rights with regard to KPN Mobile. BellSouth expects to record a gain as a result
of this transaction; the exact amount will be determined using KPN's stock price
at the time of closing. Based on KPN's current stock price, BellSouth would
record an after tax gain of approximately $900M.
Upon closing, anticipated in 2Q02 once EU, stock exchange and other regulatory
filings have been completed and necessary approvals obtained, KPN will have full
control of E-Plus, Germany's third largest operator. The Dutch State, as a
holder of a special share, has approved the issuance of new shares to BellSouth.
Currently KPN has drawn Euro 484 million (approximately $426M) under a loan
facility provided by BellSouth. This amount is being repayed today. Upon closing
KPN will assume Euro 2.1 billion (approximately $1.85B) BellSouth loans
currently extended to E-Plus. The two parties have agreed on new terms for that
loan facility, providing for a cap at the current level of BellSouth's loans to
E-Plus. The new terms also include an accelerated amortization schedule.
About E-Plus
E-Plus was founded in 1993 and launched its DCS 1800 network in 1994. Royal KPN
N.V. announced the acquisition of a 77.49% stake in Germany's third largest
mobile operator in December 1999. BellSouth acquired options to convert its
22.51% stake into KPN Mobile or into Royal KPN NV. The customer base of E-Plus
increased from 3.5 million by the end of 1999 to 7.5 million by the end of 2001.
E-Plus is planning to launch i-mode, the Japanese mobile data product developed
by NTT DoCoMo in spring 2002. NTT DoCoMo currently has over 30 million i-mode
customers.
About BellSouth Corporation
BellSouth Corporation is a Fortune 100 communications services company
headquartered in Atlanta, GA, serving more than 45 million customers in the
United States and 15 other countries.
Consistently recognized for customer satisfaction, BellSouth provides a full
array of broadband data and e-commerce solutions to business customers,
including Web hosting and other Internet services. In the residential market,
BellSouth offers DSL high-speed Internet access, advanced voice features and
other services. BellSouth also provides online and directory advertising
services, including BellSouth(R) Real PagesSM.com.
BellSouth owns 40 percent of Cingular Wireless, the nation's second largest
wireless company, which provides innovative wireless data and voice services.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
*A Private Investor is a recipient of the information who meets all of the conditions set out below, the recipient:
Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
Is not required to be regulated or supervised by a body concerned with the regulation or supervision of investment or financial services;
Is not currently registered or qualified as a professional securities trader or investment adviser with any national or state exchange, regulatory authority, professional association or recognised professional body;
Does not currently act in any capacity as an investment adviser, whether or not they have at some time been qualified to do so;
Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
Please note, this site uses cookies. Some of the cookies are essential for parts of the site to operate and have already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but if you do, parts of the site may not work. To find out more about the cookies used on Investegate and how you can manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy
To continue using Investegate, please confirm that you are a private investor as well as agreeing to our Privacy and Cookie Policy & Terms.