(Reuters) Spanish telecommunications company Euskaltel has changed the terms of the acquisition of fellow cable operator R Cable, saying it would pay fully in cash and at a slightly higher price than initially announced.
The new terms, which it said on Tuesday reflected an improved operating outlook for R Cable, also involve private equity fund CVC selling its 70 percent stake in R Cable instead of retaining a participation in the merged company.
The acquisition should be closed by the end of the year, the company said in a separate statement.
The move by Euskaltel, which listed on the stock market earlier this year, marks the latest wave of consolidation in the Spanish telecoms market.
The company said the final price, including 300 million euros ($337 million) of debt, was 1.19 billion euros, compared with 1.155 billion proposed in July. The final deal would be purely in cash and would not include shares.
The group had said in July it would pay for the deal with 600 million euros in cash and the rest in new shares.
Euskaltel said it will pay for the acquisition through a 255 million euros share issue, 35 million euros in cash from the balance sheet, 600 million euros of additional debt under the existing facilities agreement and 300 million euros of new, institutional debt.
The company said in a presentation on the deal it had not decided whether the share issue would include preferential subscription rights.
The deal, recommended by the board of directors, is conditional on approval at the shareholder meeting, expected before the end of November, and from Spanish antitrust authorities.
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