AMSTERDAM--Belgian publisher De Persgroep is interested in Royal
KPN NV's (KPN.AE) Belgian mobile unit Base, Belgian paper De Tijd
reports Friday.
De Persgroup, which owns various Belgian and Dutch papers
including De Tijd, is planning a bid with so far unidentified
partners, the report says.
Base is worth around 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion), according
to analyst estimates.
A spokesperson for De Persgroup couldn't immediately be reached
for comment.
KPN hired JPMorgan Case & Co. (JPM) to auction Base last
month as part of the Dutch telecom company's attempts to turn
around its prospects. The unit has attracted the interest of
several buyout firms as well as Belgian cable operator Telenet
Group Holding NV (TNET.BT), people familiar with matter told Dow
Jones Newswires earlier this month.
First-round bids are due at the end of July. Private equity
firms including Providence Equity Partners and Carlyle Group have
expressed interest, and Cinven is working on a joint bid with
Telenet, people told Dow Jones.
Newspaper Web site: http://www.tijd.be
-Write to Amsterdam Bureau at amsterdam@dowjones.com
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