By Andrea Hargraves 
Media Capital raises €10m as talks to buy Nowo endThe information was transmitted by the media group, which includes Mario Ferreira as a shareholder, to the CMVM late Wednesday afternoon, after the regulator requested it. The terms at issue were the exclusivity terms agreed until August 2 with Lorca, a “joint venture” between Orange and MásMóvil. The Spanish company, which has owned Nowo since 2019, reached an agreement with Digi last week to sell the operator for €150 million.
In a note sent to Negócios, the Portuguese media group summarized the key moments of the negotiation process to buy the fourth-largest operator with a stake of around 2%.
“When the unfavorable outcome of Vodafone’s acquisition of Nowo was already expected, Media Capital Group was asked about its interest in analyzing the acquisition of Nowo,” the same official source began to explain. Media Capital ensures that Lorca accepted the terms on the basis of which the Portuguese group confirmed its interest in evaluating the company for a possible acquisition.
Following the final decision by the Competition Authority on the Vodafone purchase on July 4, Media Capital “started the legal and financial due diligence process” this week, and according to the same official source, “the owner of Nowo has set August 2 as the deadline to complete the deal.” A potential business acquisition agreement,” the date on which Global Media’s exclusivity for negotiations expired.
However, this agreement stipulated that the Spanish company Lorca “has the right to stop these negotiations, at any time, if: Vodafone manages to obtain approval for its takeover offer, or receives an offer that would increase the value of Nowo by more than a multiple of the value acceptable to Media Capital.”Reads the same explanation.
As Lorca expressed, on August 1, his intention to stop the talks definitively, under the scenarios stipulated in the agreement, “Malik Noo committed to paying a fine,” the same official source confirmed, without revealing the amount in question.
According to information gathered by Negócios, the purchase offer from Media Capital was around €60 million. When asked about this amount, as well as compensation, Media Capital only said that these issues are “covered by a confidentiality agreement and can only be provided by the owner of Nowo.”Negócios has asked MásMóvil but has not received a response yet.
On August 2, it was reported that Digi has reached an agreement with Lorca to buy Cabonitel, the company that owns Portuguese telecoms company Nowo. The purchase price is 150 million euros, in line with Vodafone’s previous offer. The completion of the deal still depends on amendments and approval from regulatory authorities, specifically the Competition Authority.