UK satellite broadcaster BSkyB has agreed to sell its B2B telecoms business Easynet Global Services to UK private equity group LDC for £100m.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval and a works council consultation.
LDC, which is fully funded by…
UK satellite broadcaster BSkyB has agreed to sell its B2B telecoms business Easynet Global Services to UK private equity group LDC for £100m.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval and a works council consultation.
LDC, which is fully funded by the Lloyds Banking Group, is backing current Easynet CEO David Rowe and his management team.
As part of the proposed deal, Sky will retain the UK network assets that it acquired as part of the original acquisition of Easynet Group in 2005. Furthermore, Sky and LDC have agreed a long-term supply contract whereby Easynet will have continued access to Sky’s fibre network, with Easynet remaining a key supplier to Sky.
BoA Merrill Lynch advised Sky, while Arma Partners advised LDC. The buyer has named former BT Global Services CEO Hanif Lalani as a non-executive director.
Sky CFO Andrew Griffith described his company’s original acquisition of Easynet as “central to the early success of Sky Broadband and Sky Talk. Whilst retaining the UK network assets to support the continued growth of our residential customers, we propose to exit the B2B segment with the sale of the business to a credible team and on attractive terms.”
Peter Brooks, MD at buyer LDC said that from his perspective, Easynet “provides innovative services to multinational clients across the attractive data networking and managed hosting sectors”, adding that he fully supported the current management team.
LDC noted that European companies are expected to increase expenditure on business data services, thanks to increasing trend towards outsourcing server and hosting management and location. It said that its own specialty areas include TMT, business and support services and BPO. The private equity group says it focuses on UK companies seeking £2-100m of equity for MBOs, institutional buy-outs and development capital transactions.
