The private equity owner of Eurofiber is pursuing a dual-track process but favours a sale rather than an IPO, according to a report in De Telegraaf.
London PE house Doughty Hanson acquired a majority stake in the Dutch fibre network provider in 2012 but…
The private equity owner of Eurofiber is pursuing a dual-track process but favours a sale rather than an IPO, according to a report in De Telegraaf.
London PE house Doughty Hanson acquired a majority stake in the Dutch fibre network provider in 2012 but is now looking to cash out.
Jefferies has been hired to explore the preferred option of a straight sale while Morgan Stanley has been mandated to work on an IPO, which may be pursued if a buyer is not found, the report said.
The sale process is reported to have been on hold while Eurofiber’s US peer Zayo Group was working on an IPO – which completed yesterday raising US$458m – to gauge market appetite for companies in the sector.
Eurofiber’s owner is reported to have been buoyed by Zayo’s New York listing which, despite pricing below expectations, saw shares jump more than 15% on the first day of trading in the face of slumping equity markets.
Doughty Hanson bought the bulk of Eurofiber from Reggeborgh, an investment vehicle of the construction-focused Wessels family, which retained a significant stake in the provider.
Eurofiber has 18,000 kilometres of dark fibre and its network covers the Netherlands and stretches into Germany and Belgium.
Eurofiber declined to comment while Doughty Hanson did not respond to a request for comment before the press deadline.
