Portugal Telecom has hit serious financial difficulties against the backdrop of Altice seeking to buy some of its assets.
Bloomberg reports that the telco, which holds €897 million in debt defaulted by Rioforte Investments, saw its share price fall by 10% to €1.09 – the lowest since 1995 – after a Luxembourg court rejected creditor requests.
These were made by Rioforte, as well as Espirito Santo International, part of Grupo Espirito Santo.
Portugal Telecom’s assets include a minority stake in company being formed by itself and Brazil’s Oi.
However, the cable operator Altice is now understood to be preparing a bid for the Portuguese assets of this company.
Portugal Telecom is itself currently valued at €979 million.
Meanwhile, Portugal’s Securities Market Commission (CMVM) has placed a temporary prohibition of short selling of shares issued by Portugal Telecom.
It is in effect just for today (October 21).
