Vodafone Wins German Court Backing in Price Fight With Elliott
Vodafone Wins German Court Backing in Price Fight With Elliott
(Bloomberg) --
Vodafone Group Plc won backing from a German court for the price it paid for Kabel Deutschland Holding AG, dealing a blow to activist investor Elliott Management Corp.’s attempt to win a bigger payout.
The 84.53 euros ($93) a share -- plus an annual top up -- Vodafone paid to Kabel Deutschland’s shareholders as part of the 2013 acquisition is “adequate,” a court in Munich said Wednesday.
Elliott, run by billionaire Paul Singer, has tried to get a higher offer from Vodafone, which agreed to buy Kabel Deutschland six years ago. Elliott refused to tender its 13.5% stake, and asked a Munich court to order new audits of the deal in 2015. A year later, a Munich court granted Elliott’s request to review the actions of Kabel Deutschland’s board during the negotiations.
Vodafone owns about 75% of Kabel Deutschland, with Elliott and other investors still owning stakes. German law allows investors to decline to sell during a takeover attempt and ask for higher compensation, leaving a court to determine the stock’s value.
To contact the reporters on this story: Tim Loh in Munich at tloh16@bloomberg.net;Karin Matussek in Berlin at kmatussek@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rebecca Penty at rpenty@bloomberg.net, Stefan Nicola, Anthony Aarons
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.