Bidders for Auna raise stakes

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Shareholders in Auna, the Spanish telecommunications group, are believed to have received offers of between E11.5-12bn in two separate bids for the company. Merrill Lynch, acting for Auna's shareholders, has reportedly received two bids, one of which from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), Goldman Sachs and BC Partners, values the entire company at over E11.5bn. The second is a two-part offer, which includes a E2.5bn bid by the Spanish telecoms group Ono and Providence Equity Partners for Auna's fixed-line and cable assets, and a E9bn offer by Blackstone, Carlyle, Permira and Providence Equity Partners to buy Auna's mobile phone business, Amena. Additional equity for the fixed-line business could be provided by Thomas H Lee, JP Morgan Partners, Candover and Quadrangle. One of the shareholders, Banco Santander, previously said that anything below E12.5bn would be insufficient. However, increased caution in the debt markets and tough competition from mobile phone networks like Vodafone and TelefÃ³nica MÃ³viles, means that Auna's shareholders may have been forced to reconsider their asking price.