Dutch telecoms firm to bid for Getronics
Relief in the air?
Posted in IT Channel, 30th July 2007 11:00 GMT
Free whitepaper – Why email fails
Dutch telecommunications company KPN says it intends to launch a €766m bid for struggling IT services company Getronics NV.
Last year, merger discussions between KPN and Getronics led nowhere. Instead, Getronics shedded businesses in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and China, and majority stakes in its French and Japanese operations. Takeover talks with an unknown US firm yielded no deal.
The KPN acquisition, to be pitched at €6.25 a share, "will reinforce the stated ICT strategy of KPN's business segment and further transform KPN from a communication service provider to an end-to-end provider of ICT services", the company said.
Getronics today reported sales of €1.28bn, and a €108m loss from continuing operations, citing cost pressures in the Dutch labour market, and the postponement of large deals in the US.
Getronics CEO Klaas Wagenaar will step down when the companies reach full agreement on the deal.
KPN today reported second quarter earnings of €401m, down from €431m. The company lost almost 300,000 subscribers of its fixed line business. However, the company's mobile telephony provider E-Plus, the third-largest in Germany, reported strong growth. ®
Free whitepaper – Solving on-premise email challenges with on-demand services
Essential archive requirements for eDiscovery
Image spam: the threat returns
The shortcut guide to managing certificate lifecycles

Sign up, sign up for The Register IT security newsletter
Former top Sun exec mourns end of a franchise
Win an HTC Touch Diamond2!