Monday, August 13, 2007

Previews of coming attractions--the Lattelecom MBO

Here is a likely timeline for the Lattelecom employee and management buy-out (MBO).

September 1 -- the consortium to finance the LVL 290 million deal should be in place and consist of one private equity partner and a small consortium of banks. There will be covenants with the private equity partner limiting the sale of shares and retaining critical strategic and budget decisions in the hands of Lattelecom management,

September 12 -- there might be a formal signing or initialing of the deal to transfer 100 % of Lattelecom to the MBO consortiium while the remaining state shares in Latvian Mobile Telephone (LMT) go to TeliaSonera.

End 2007 -- the deal is closed.
Early 2008 - Lattelecom grants, free of charge, a certain number of shares to every employee, regardless of seniority or position. It also offers a limited number of shares to employees and managers for cash.

2009 -? Lattelecom, based on financial performance, grants options/profit sharing shares to employees and managers. Most staffers have the option to take cash or shares (buy out their options) but many middle and all higher level managers will have a substantial part of their remuneration in share options.

Lattelecom will also start actively looking for corporate acquisitions in the region -- neighboring Estonia and Lithuania, possibly Scandinavia. During 2008, it will have entered the mobile market, most probably as a virtual operator with Bite as its partner.

2010-2012: Look for a share issue and stock exchange listing of Lattelecom once it has shown substantial revenue growth (while sustaining or increasing profitability). The listing will allow some employee-management shareholders to cash in (out?) upon retirement or leaving the company and give all a market-based indicator of the value of their holdings.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

thats one side.
other side - scraping of assets, layoffs & figure massaging to follow.