Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica SA (BME:TEF) said it has decided to launch an offer to acquire the 28.19% stake in its German unit it still does not own for up to EUR 1.97 billion (USD 2.12 billion). The Spanish company, which holds about 71.81% in Telefónica Deutschland Holding AG (ETR:O2D), will propose EUR 2.35 apiece for the remaining up to 838.45 million shares. The bid represents a premium of about 37.6% over the closing price on November 6 as well as a premium of 36.3% over the preceding three-month average share price.

The offer is in line with Telefonica?s strategy to focus on its core geographies, including Spain, Brazil, Germany and the UK. The move will also help the Spanish giant streamline its organisation. The partial bid will not be subject to a minimum acceptance threshold.

It is expected to begin in December 2023 and run until the middle of January. The offer highlights Telefonica?s commitment to the German market, ?representing one of the most attractive and stable telecom markets in Europe?, the Spanish firm said.