Publigroupe: Swisscom holds 90.59 percent
The takeover of Publigroupe by Swisscom is one step closer. According to the definitive interim result, Swisscom has been tendered 71.53% of the shares to which the public offer related.
The deadline expired on August 5. Swisscom's stake in Publigroupe thus amounted to 90.59% at the end of the offer period, as the telecommunications company announced on Monday. This means that these figures have not changed since the publication of the provisional interim results on August 6. The offer has therefore been made subject to certain conditions that apply until completion, it added. The grace period of ten trading days for subsequent acceptance of the offer begins tomorrow, Tuesday, and lasts until August 25. According to the press release, completion is expected to take place on September 8.
The purchase of the shares and the takeover of PubliGroupe are in line with its Board of Directors, which approved the Swisscom offer in July. Publigroupe, which after the sale of the advertising placement business Publicitas still consists of a stake in the internet platform Local.ch and various small companies, mostly active in marketing, is worth around millions of francs.
Swisscom and Tamedia are primarily interested in the Local.ch directory service, which is currently owned equally by PubliGroupe and Swisscom. Following the purchase of Publigroupe, Swisscom intends to merge Local.ch with Tamedia's Search.ch directory service. Swisscom will play first fiddle in the new joint venture - it will hold 69 percent of the planned joint venture, while Tamedia will have to make do with 31 percent. Together, Local.ch and Search.ch are to become a Swiss alternative to Google. (SDA)
