Vodafone Group Plc made a statement today, revealing that it made a tender offer to acquire Italys Cobra Automotive Technologies SpA for 1.49 euros per share. This values the Italian company at about 145 million euros (197.5 million dollars). Vodafones move attempts to boost its machine-to-machine capability.
The machine-to-machine units Director at Vodafone Group Plc – Mr. Erik Brenneis – commented on the announcement for the Wall Street Journal, saying: “The combination of Vodafone and Cobra will create a new global provider of connected car services.”
Currently, Cobra Automotive Technologies SpA, which is based in Italy, provides a range of telematics and security solutions to the insurance and automotive industries. The majority shareholder of the company – Intek Group, which holds a 51.4% stake in the company also made a statement, explaining that it agreed to sell its stake in Cobra at the price of 74.3 million euros (101 million dollars). According to Intek Groups statement, Vodafone has set a goal of taking control of no less than 95% of the total capital of Cobra.
The purchase is considered to be quite beneficial for the telecom giant, because the transaction would expand Vodafones range of services provided to automotive customers. This, on the other hand, would make the company more competitive on the market.
In addition, Cobra has operations in countries all over the world, such as China, Japan, South Korea, France, Spain, Germany, the U.K., Italy, Switzerland and Brazil. This means that the acquisition will expand Vodafone Group Plc reach and give it the chance to work with a great range of dealerships, vehicle makers and aftermarket customers.
The offer of Vodafone needs to get the approval of antitrust regulators and is expected to be finalized over the third quarter of the current financial year.
Vodafone Group Plc was losing 0.46% to trade at 194.10 pence per share by 9:28 GMT, marking a one year change of +5.18%. According to the information published on the Financial Times, the 23 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Vodafone Group Plc have a median target of 240.00, with a high estimate of 275.00 and a low estimate of 130.00. The median estimate represents a 23.08% increase from the last price of 195.00.
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