Telefonica receives dividend from German unit ahead of IPO

Spanish telecoms group Telefonica has completed a financial restructuring of its German unit ahead of the subsidiary’s initial public offering (IPO) later this month, Reuters cites two people familiar with the process as saying. According to the sources, Telefonica Germany (O2) has paid its parent EUR4 billion (USD5.2 billion) in a special dividend so that the German unit will have net debt of EUR1.2 billion at the end of the year. Earlier this month Telefonica, which is struggling to cut its debt burden amid falling revenue and profit in its domestic market, confirmed that it plans to list its German subsidiary on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by the end of this year. Telefonica said it will remain the majority shareholder of Telefonica Germany. The company has not yet confirmed what percentage of capital it will list, although recent press reports have suggested that it is aiming to raise as much as EUR1.5 billion from the sale of a potential 20% stake in Telefonica Germany.