KPN raises $4.4 billion

December 7, 2001 Posted: 0956 GMT

LONDON (CNN) -- Debt-crippled KPN Telecom said on Friday it raised 5 billion ($4.4 billion) through a share sale.

The Dutch company, which announced plans to slash about 4,800 jobs in late October, spent billions on buying third-generation, or high-speed, mobile phone licences and German mobile phone company E-Plus Mobilfunk.

Chief Executive Ad Scheepbouwer, who took over the post on November 1 after his predecessor was ousted following two failed attempts to find a merger partner and reduce debts of about 23.2 billion, has moved quickly to restore investor and financial stability.

The company sold about 1 billion shares at 4.90 per share. The issue price was a 4.1 percent discount over Thursday's closing price of 5.11 euros.

Existing shareholders took 60 percent of the offering, including 1.7 billion by the Dutch government, which owns 34.7 percent of KPN. The offer was almost 4 times oversubscribed, KPN said in a statement. The new shares will begin trading on December 12.

KPN hopes the share offer to existing investors will reduce its debt to 14 billion by the end of 2002.

The company's stock, which has lost more than 50 percent of its value this year, soared more than 7 percent to 5.47 in early Amsterdam trading on Friday. KPN shares have been as high as 18.36 on January 22 and as low as 2.03 on September 6.