In her take over bid announced Sunday, Isabel dos Santo offered 1.2 billion euros ($1.5 billion), or 1.35 euros per share, for PT SGPS holding, which has a 25.6 percent stake in Brazilian telecommunications operator Oi.
The move would disrupt the ongoing merger of Portugal Telecom with Oi, and on Monday the Brazilian company issued a statement calling the Angolan offer “ill-timed”.
The move by Dos Santos could also wrong foot a bid by Altice, parent company of French cable operator Numericable, to acquire most of Portugal Telecom. On November 3 made an offer of 7.025 billion euros to Oi for most of the Portugese operator.
Portugal’s historic telecommunications operator has been targeted since October by several potential buyers, including the Portuguese telecoms group NOS, in which Dos Santos is a shareholder.
After soaring more than 12 percent at one point, Portugal Telecom shares stood up 9.9 percent in afternoon trading at 1.67 euros, helping push the Lisbon market up 1.7 percent to 5,229.29 points.
According to Forbes, Isabel dos Santos, 41 years old is regarded as Africa’s richest woman, with net worth valued at over $3billion, more than the estimate for Nigeria’s Folorunso Alakija. Isabel has interests in oil telecoms and banking.