Europe-focused DTH group Canal Digitaal Satelliet (CDS) is set to buy Dutch telco T-Mobile Netherlands’ fixed-line unit Euronet to bolster its triple-play offering.
Founded in 1994, Euronet is one of the oldest ISPs in the Netherlands and has around…
Europe-focused DTH group Canal Digitaal Satelliet (CDS) is set to buy Dutch telco T-Mobile Netherlands’ fixed-line unit Euronet to bolster its triple-play offering.
Founded in 1994, Euronet is one of the oldest ISPs in the Netherlands and has around 270,000 customers and roughly 100 employees. It provides services by partly using its own fixed line infrastructure. Financial details were not disclosed.
CDS, owned by private equity firms Providence and Airbridge, is the sole parent of Luxembourg-based M7 Group, which provides satellite TV services in the Netherlands through its CanalDigitaal platform. CanalDigitaal used to resell broadband services from Euronet before switching to rival telco KPN.
Roderik Schlösser, a vice president at Providence, said: “The acquisition of Euronet allows us to further enhance our internet and telephony service offering in the Netherlands. As a new part of the group, Euronet will strengthen CanalDigitaal’s service proposition.”
For T-Mobile Netherlands, which is owned by German telecoms incumbent Deutsche Telekom, the deal fits a strategy it announced last year to focus further on mobile internet.
Thomas Berlemann, managing director of T-Mobile Netherlands, said: “Our strategy is to become the recognised leader in mobile Internet. In light of this strategic focus, a sale of our fixed line business enables us to become even more focused on the execution of our goals.”
The companies said Euronet will be run as a separate company from CDS following the deal, which they expect to close in 2014 after receiving various regulatory approvals.
BNP Paribas financially advised T-Mobile Netherlands on the sale, while CDS did not hire an adviser.
M7 plans Hungarian acquisition
Separately, a board member of M7 Group has been cited saying it is evaluating the potential acquisition of Hungarian DTH operator Hello HD.
Jaromir Glisnik reportedly added that it was unlikely any deal would be completed before 2014.
A spokesperson for M7 told SatelliteFinance via email: “We cooperate with Hello HD and provide some technical services to them (satellite distribution, conditional access systems etc). No concrete plan for acquisition in near term.”
Hello HD was unable to comment before the press deadline.
M7 was established in October 2009 as the holding company for a swathe of European DTH providers that have been purchased by its private equity owners over the past few years.
As well as the Netherlands, it also has operations in Belgium, Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
It has also been rumoured to be looking at acquisitions in Ukraine and Romania.
