Activist demands new audit of KD, Voda deal
January 13, 2015
Kabel Deutschland active shareholder Elliott Management has called for a new audit of Vodafone’s $11 billion takeover of the German cable company as the hedge fund seeks more money from the MNO.
Elliot also called for a shareholder meeting in which Kabel Deutschland should explain an auditor’s report that said the acquisition undervalued the company.
“The findings of the special auditor’s report contain troubling allegations that pertain to the fair valuation of KDG and to breaches of duty by the company’s management and supervisory boards,” Elliott said today. A review of management action would “clear up the severe allegations raised in the report.”
Kabel Deutschland received the request and will call an extraordinary shareholder meeting “assuming it meets the legal requirements,” Ben Padovan, a spokesman for Newbury, England-based Vodafone, which controls Kabel Deutschland, said in an email.