LONDON â€" América Móvil, the Latin American telecommunications giant owned by Carlos Slim Helú, said on Wednesday that it had dropped its 7.2 billion euro, or $9.7 billion, bid to acquire the Dutch telephone provider Royal KPN.
The decision, which was disclosed in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, came after a foundation that looks out for the interest of KPN’s shareholders exercised a call option earlier this summer giving it a nearly 50 percent stake in the company.
América Móvil had offered to buy the 70 percent of KPN it did not already own for a price of 2.40 euros, or $3.24, a share in hopes of acquiring a controlling stake in the company. The company’s management had sought a higher price.
“The foundation, having exercised the option granted to it by KPN to purchase class B preference shares in the capital of KPN, obstructs the fulfillment of this aim, to the detriment of KPN shareholders who would have intended to participate in the intended offer,†América Móvil said.
KPN did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
América Móvil said it had multiple conversations with KPN’s representatives since it began trying to acquire the company in early August, but KPN made any further discussions contingent on a higher price.
KPN requires “a strategic partner with operational experience in the telecommunication sector, with sufficient scale and long-term vision, in order to tackle during the upcoming years the significant challenges the European telecommunication sector faces,†América Móvil said in its filing.
“América Móvil believes, and so told representatives of KPN, that KPN’s shareholders should be the ones to decide whether the price offered is fair. They should have had the option to sell their shares, considering the terms and conditions of the intended offer,†the company said.
Shares of KPN rose 0.5 percent, while those of América Móvil were up 4 percent.
Mr. Slim owns about a 13 percent stake in The New York Times Company.
