Private equity firms including KKR & Co. (KKR) and Apax
Partners are teaming up to make a joint bid for Vivendi SA's
(VIV.FR) Brazilian phone and broadband unit GVT against DirecTV
(DTV), Bloomberg News reported Thursday on its website, citing
unnamed sources.
The group is willing to pay as much as €5 billion ($6.8
billion) for GVT, compared with Vivendi's asking price of about
EUR8 billion, the report said.
Gavea Investimentos Ltda, owned by JPMorgan Chase & Co.
(JPM), and Cambuhy Investimentos Ltda are also in the group of
bidders, while Grupo BTG Pactual is still considering whether to
join the bid, the report added.
But DirecTV, which remains interested in acquiring GVT, may be
able to put out a bid closer to Vivendi's asking price due to the
efficiencies the deal would bring about, the report cited another
source as saying. Potential buyers are preparing for the second
round of bids, which may be held by end-February, according to the
report.
Vivendi, Apax, KKR and BTG Pactual representatives declined
comment, while a DirecTV representative didn't respond to a message
seeking comment, the report said. A JPMorgan spokesman declined
comment on Gavea Investimentos' plans, while calls made to Cambuhy
Investimentos weren't answered, the report added.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires