EQT, Stonepeak Prepare for Long Haul After KPN Rebuffs Approach

  • Bidders wonder if Dutch telco is just aiming for higher price
  • Rival suitor KKR has all but dropped its pursuit of KPN

    

Photographer: Yuriko Nakao/Bloomberg
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EQT AB always knew a takeover of former Dutch telecom monopoly Royal KPN NV would be a sensitive affair.

So when the Nordic buyout firm started working on the idea more than half a year ago, the goal was to slowly win over KPN management to a friendly deal by pledging billions in long-term infrastructure investments.