* To investigate whether management violated duties, law
* Elliott holds 14.4 pct of Kabel Deutschland shares
* Vodafone to appeal court decision (Adds Vodafone, Elliott comment, details)
FRANKFURT, June 10 (Reuters) - A German court has handed avictory to hedge fund Elliott in a battle over the priceVodafone paid for Germany's Kabel Deutschland by ordering another audit of the value of Germany's largestcable group.
Vodafone acquired just over three quarters of shares inKabel Deutschland with an 84.50 euro per share, or 7.7 billioneuro ($8.70 billion) bid in 2013 as it was seeking to expand itsrange of television and fixed-line services in Germany.
But U.S. hedge fund Elliott, which holds 14.4 percent ofKabel Deutschland shares, filed a legal suit in 2014 demandinghigher compensation for minority shareholders.
Kabel Deutschland responded by appointing a special auditorto establish the underlying value which said that the companywas worth almost a quarter more than what Vodafone offered.
Elliott was not satisfied and decided to pursue its case andthe Munich regional court on Thursday called for a new audit ofthe Kabel Deutschland takeover. The decision was made publiconly on Friday.
The new auditor, appointed by the court, will examinewhether Kabel Deutschland obstructed the work of the previousauditor.
He will also examine the period between April 2013 and thelaunch of the buyout offer in June 2013. The previous auditor'swork had been limited to the end of March 2013.
Elliott portfolio manager Franck Tuil said the cost toVodafone of compensating minority shareholders could be morethan a billion euros.
"Using the mid-point of Kabel Deutschland's own internalvaluation the total cost per share to Vodafone, after interesthas been taken into consideration is 188 euros (a share), anincrease of 1.4 billion euros over the cost currently estimatedby the market," he said in a statement.
Vodafone said in a statement that Vodafone and KabelDeutschland's management did not see any reason for a specialaudit and that it would appeal the court's decision.($1 = 0.8847 euros) (Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Joern Poltz; Writing by HarroTen Wolde; Editing by Victoria Bryan)
Vodafone (VOD)