Eelco Blok, KPN’s chief executive, reckons America Movil will keep its minority stake in the Dutch operator, despite its failed takeover bid.

Speaking at a conference in Barcelona, Blok said that taking into consideration KPN’s share price and expectations on financial performance – as well as the average price paid by America Movil for its current 29.7 per cent stake – he believed that Carlos Slim’s group would most likely hang on to it.

“But that’s my analysis of the situation,” he added, quoted by Reuters, “and it’s up to America Movil to take their decision.”

Blok’s confidence is perhaps not surprising. Despite the collapse of the takeover bid, there have been suggestions that Carlos Slim’s group would make a renewed offer at a later date – a possibility that the KPN head has never ruled out.

“I’m not going to say which price we wanted because there is a possibility that we will be sitting around the table again,” he told journalists when news broke of Slim’s failed takeover attempt.