Saudi Telecom Company (STC) on Tuesday announced that it will proceed as planned with its voluntary takeover offer for Kuwait’s Viva, despite a difference in opinion from the two companies over the fairness of the offer price.
Just over a week ago STC got the regulatory go-ahead for its takeover offer and set an offer price of 1 Kuwaiti dinar (€3) per share.
Viva appointed Protiviti, a financial advisor licensed by the Kuwait Capital Markets Authority (CMA), to conduct a valuation of the company, STC said in a statement this week. That valuation confirmed that the offer price is fair, it said.
However, Viva’s board expressed a different opinion, STC explained.
Indeed, according to Reuters, which has seen a separate announcement from Viva, the Viva board described the price as "not fair".
Nonetheless, STC will not increase its offer price. It noted that any recommendation from the Viva board is non-binding; it is up to the individual shareholders to make their decision.
"STC will therefore proceed with its offer in line with the CMA rules in Kuwait and does not intend to change the offer price," it said.
STC aims to acquire the 74% of Viva that it does not already own. It previously said the offer period will run from 27 December through to 31 March.
