Swiss telecommunications company Salt considers suing Sunrise, arguing that its competitor’s sale to Liberty Global would be in breach of an agreement signed months earlier.
Salt is concerned that the proposed transaction in which Liberty or its designated affiliate would acquire Sunrise infringes on contractual rights established as part of its Swiss Open Fibre joint venture with Sunrise.
According to Salt, the unanimous Sunrise board approval for the deal and the irrevocable tender by Freenet of its 24.4% stake in Sunrise “have already destroyed significant value for Salt and its shareholders.”
US law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan is representing Salt and has filed section 1782 proceedings in the US to obtain information from Liberty relevant to the transaction.
In May 2020, Salt and Sunrise agreed on a strategic partnership to supply households across Switzerland with fibre-optic-based broadband connections (FTTH), competing with incumbent telco Swisscom and Liberty’s Swiss cable operator UPC.
However, three months later, Liberty and Sunrise reached a takeover agreement, setting the company’s value at CHF6.8 billion (€6.3 billion). The move follows the failed acquisition of Liberty’s UPC by Sunrise.
