FREENET AG Directors of the Sunrise
DGAP-News: freenet AG / Schlagwort(e): Stellungnahme
freenet AG: Clarification of voting behaviour in the Board of Directors of the
Sunrise (News mit Zusatzmaterial)
08.10.2019 / 18:06
Für den Inhalt der Mitteilung ist der Emittent / Herausgeber verantwortlich.
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Clarification of voting behaviour in the Board of Directors of the Sunrise
Dear Fellow Sunrise Shareholders,
As member of the Board of Directors of Sunrise, we would like to set the record
straight about our position relating to Sunrise's proposed transaction and
correct Sunrise's reporting that we changed our opinion on the transaction
overtime.
As part of their efforts to pursue support for the proposed transaction,
Sunrise has chosen to disclose confidential board and board committee
discussions in an attempt to somehow discredit our service on the Board of
Directors of Sunrise. However, their statement that we changed our perspective
on the merits of the transaction during this process is patently not true and
their selective disclosure therefore only serves to further mislead
shareholders. While we believe that board discussions should remain
confidential, we feel compelled in this case to provide Sunrise shareholders
with the facts as clearly as possible within legal boundaries.
We made our concerns about an all-cash structure for UPC very clear to the
Board of Directors of Sunrise from the outset and have remained consistent in
our view throughout. While we agreed with a continuation of the negotiation
process in the early stages to explore whether alternative terms could be
agreed, it is misleading and incorrect for Sunrise to present this as having
been "supportive" of the all-cash-deal. In fact, on two separate occasions in
January 2019 at the Board of Directors of Sunrise (once the unfavourable deal
terms became more tangible), we voted against the deal due to its structure and
shared our opposition publicly. And ultimately, when the proposed deal was
presented to the Board of Directors for final approval, we voted against.
We have been consistent in our opposition from the outset and, as more
information has become available, our opposition has only strengthened. From
our extensive experience in the telecoms sector and detailed review of the
proposed deal, it is clear to us that the UPC Switzerland transaction is not in
the best interests of Sunrise and its shareholders and thus should be rejected
at this month's EGM.
- Since the deal's announcement in January, Sunrise's share price has declined
and we fear there will be further downside if the transaction were to move
ahead
- We question the sustainability of the cable industry and believe that its
decline across markets will only accelerate as the switch to 5G becomes
mainstream
- The deal is expensive and given the cable industry's as well as UPC's
challenges, Sunrise shareholders will pay too much for UPC Switzerland
- The deal's all-cash structure is not in the best interest of Sunrise and its
shareholders
- Sunrise will continue to thrive as a stand-alone company and there are more
cost-effective alternatives than UPC Switzerland to further drive convergence
We remain committed to the best interests of Sunrise and its shareholders and
therefore consistent in our opposition to the proposed deal. Increasing the
value of Sunrise is in the interest of all its shareholders. We are not the
only shareholder that has been public in their opposition, and encourage all
shareholders to oppose the UPC Switzerland transaction and the corresponding
capital increase on 23 October 2019.
Best regards,
Christoph Vilanek Ingo
Arnold
CEO of freenet AG CFO
of freenet AG
Member of the Board of Directors of Member of
the Board of Directors of
Sunrise Communications Group AG Sunrise
Communications Group AG
(since April 2016)
(since April 2019)
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Zusatzmaterial zur Meldung:
Dokument: http://n.eqs.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=MOLJIPOKSI
Dokumenttitel: Clarification of voting behaviour in the Board of Directors of
the Sunrise
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08.10.2019 Veröffentlichung einer Corporate News/Finanznachricht, übermittelt
durch DGAP - ein Service der EQS Group AG.
Für den Inhalt der Mitteilung ist der Emittent / Herausgeber verantwortlich.
Die DGAP Distributionsservices umfassen gesetzliche Meldepflichten, Corporate
News/Finanznachrichten und Pressemitteilungen.
Medienarchiv unter http://www.dgap.de
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Sprache: Deutsch
Unternehmen: freenet AG
Hollerstraße 126
24782 Büdelsdorf
Deutschland
Telefon: +49 (0)40 51306-778
Fax: +49 (0)40 51306-970
E-Mail: ir@freenet.ag
Internet: www.freenet-group.de
ISIN: DE000A0Z2ZZ5, DE000A1KQXU0
WKN: A0Z2ZZ , A1KQXU
Indizes: MDAX, TecDAX
Börsen: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in
Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München, Stuttgart,
Tradegate Exchange
EQS News ID: 887231
Ende der Mitteilung DGAP News-Service
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887231 08.10.2019
