KPN Mobile and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. reached an agreement on their disputed U.K. third-generation operator business. KPN Mobile will sell its 15-percent stake in Hutchison 3G U.K. Ltd. to Hutchison Whampoa for $150.4 million.
An initial $100.2 million payment will be made and three additional payments of $16.7 million each will be made in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Hutchison will assume legal ownership of the shares after the final payment, and IPN Mobile will not exercise its rights regarding the shares in the interim. The court actions between the two companies were terminated, and KPN Mobile has no further financial commitments to Hutchison, the Dutch operator said.
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Earlier this year, Hutchison started legal proceedings against KPN after KPN refused to loan additional funds to the U.K. venture. KPN, which has already written off the value of the holding, countersued, asking that Hutchison buy its stake.
Hutchison owns 65 percent of the struggling U.K. operator, and NTT DoCoMo Inc. holds 20 percent.