German cable operator Pepcom has been sold to Star Capital Partners by GMT Communication Partners and Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS) for an undisclosed amount, the sellers said.
A press release read that GMT made a 2.4x return on investment. Last year,…
German cable operator Pepcom has been sold to Star Capital Partners by GMT Communication Partners and Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS) for an undisclosed amount, the sellers said.
A press release read that GMT made a 2.4x return on investment. Last year, TelecomFinance reported that Pepcom could be worth E200m.
GMT and VSS had equal stakes in the company amounting to 81%. The remaining 19% was held by Pepcom’s senior management, which will retain a stake in the company, said Johannes von Bismarck, a managing director at VSS.
When asked why both firms decided to exit their investment, Vikram Krishna, a principal at GMT, said “Star Capital made an interesting offer for us to consider,” without commenting further on the transaction price.
In recent years, several companies expressed their interest in acquiring Pepcom, including Kabel Deutschland (KDG), which was reportedly close to buy the cable company last July.
Following that successful portfolio exit, both GMT and VSS said they may consider making new acquisitions, notably in the European cable market. “There are a lot of regional players in the German cable market, so we should see more consolidation,” said Vikram Krishna, a principal at GMT. “We’re interested in small to mid-players that we can consolidate on a larger scale,” added von Bismarck.
GMT set up Pepcom in 2001 with the objective to expand it through acquisitions, explained GMT. Overall, the company made 12 acquisitions, becoming one of Germany’s largest cable operators with more than 630,000 subscribers of video, broadband and voice services.
Other companies are also looking to consolidate. A few days ago, troubled German cableco KabelBW completed its purchase of units in the Baden-Württemberg province from rival Tele Columbus.
Legal advisers on the deal for GMT and VSS were Noerr, Weil Gotshal & Manges, as well as Baker McKenzie. Deloitte served as a financial adviser while Rothschild is also believed to have had some involvement in the transaction.
Jones Day is believed to have provided legal advice to Star Capital.
