Auna Gets 2 Different Bids Of About EUR12 Billion - Source

MADRID (Dow Jones)--Spanish telecommunications company Grupo Auna SA (AUNA.YY) has received two different takeover bids of about EUR12 billion, a person close to the situation said Monday.

One of the offers comes from a group of three private equity firms - Apax Partners & Co. Ltd. (APX.YY), Blackstone Group (BGP.XX) and CVC Capital Partners Ltd. (CVC.YY) - while the other has been launched separately by private equity firm Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. (KKR.XX), the person said.

The company has received a third bid for its cable assets only, from Spanish cable rival Grupo Corporativo Ono. Those assets account for about one fifth of the company's estimated value.

The person said that Ono's bid is unlikely to succeed, since Auna's shareholders, led by Spanish electricity company Union Fenosa SA (UNF.MC), are inclined to sell the group as a whole.

Auna is unlisted and is controlled by Spanish utility Endesa (ELE), with a 32.9% stake. Fenosa has a 18.7% stake and bank Santander Central Hispano SA (STD) has a 32% interest.

Auna's cable division is the number-two Spanish fixed-line telecom operator after Telefonica SA (TEF), while its mobile telephony division, Amena, is the number-three mobile telecom player.

Auna has been at the centre of a bidding battle since last year, when a consortium of five private equity firms made an informal EUR11 billion bid, subsequently rejected by Auna's shareholders.

Ono later reacted with an approach to buy Auna's cable division, and Auna launched its own offer for Ono, which was rejected by Ono's management.

Officials at CVC and Blackstone couldn't be reached for comment Monday. All other parties declined to comment. Company Web site: http://www.auna.es Company Web site: http://ono.es

-By David Roman, Dow Jones Newswires, 34 913958125, david.roman@dowjones.com

(Christopher Bjork contributed to this story)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires"

Posted to the site on 25th April 2005