Private equity firm BC Partners has acquired handset retailer Phones4U from Providence Equity Partners The terms of the deal were not disclosed, although it is believed to be worth between £600m and £700m.
BC Partners was advised on the deal by Global…
Private equity firm BC Partners has acquired handset retailer Phones4U from Providence Equity Partners The terms of the deal were not disclosed, although it is believed to be worth between £600m and £700m.
BC Partners was advised on the deal by Global Leisure Partners and Goldman Sachs. Providence was advised by Deutsche Bank. The deal is expected to complete in April, pending regulatory approvals.
Founder John Caudwell reportedly made £1.46bn when he sold 75% of Phones4U and the 20:20 distribution company to Providence in 2006, and could be due another windfall this time around.
Phones4U currently has over 500 stores in the UK and supplies all the major network and handset brands.
Its sales for 2010 were more than £900m, an increase of 20% on the previous year.
Andrew Newington, a managing partner at BC Partners, said that Phones4U was ideally positioned to benefit from strong growth in the smartphone market in the future.
Newington said: “We look forward to working with management, and investing further across the business to maximise its growth potential.”
