Denmark-based operator TDC Group rejected a takeover bid worth a reported $6 billion from a consortium comprising of three local pension funds and Australia-based financial group Macquarie Group.

In a statement, TDC Group confirmed it had received an indicative proposal from a consortium including pension groups PFA, PKA, ATP and Macquarie Investments and Real Assets, but concluded the offer was not in the “best interest of TDC’s shareholders and stakeholders and it has been rejected”.

News of an indicative bid was first reported by Danish daily newspaper Borsen, which stated the consortium had offered DKK47 ($7.70) per share in late January, giving the company a total value of DKK38.2 billion.

Berlingske, another Danish publication, then reported the offer price had been lifted by DKK1 in recent days. The proposed deal would have seen Macquarie acquire slightly more than 50 per cent of shares in TDC, while the Danish funds would then split the remaining ownership equally between them, added Berlingske.

Denmark-based pension fund ATP’s CEO Christian Hyldahl confirmed the consortium had been in dialogue with TDC and said it hoped discussions would remain ongoing, reported Reuters.

The consortium reportedly plans to invest in networks in Denmark and pledged not to cut staff if it was successful with the takeover bid.

MTG deal
News of a potential takeover of TDC comes a week after the Danish company struck a $2.5 billion deal to acquire media and content company Modern Time Group’s Nordic subsidiary. The deal is subject to shareholder approval and regulatory clearance.

“We are confident in the stand-alone prospects of TDC and convinced of the incremental value creation potential of the announced combination with MTG’s Nordic Entertainment and Studio Division,” TDC in its latest statement.