German cable operator Kabel Deutschland (KDG) was advised by law firm Freshfields on its IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, which saw the company raise E759m.
The offering was managed by Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS, and was around…
German cable operator Kabel Deutschland (KDG) was advised by law firm Freshfields on its IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, which saw the company raise E759m.
The offering was managed by Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS, and was around 2.2x oversubscribed.
The shares were sold towards the lower end of the price range at E22 each, valuing the company at E5bn, including E3bn of debt. Providence Equity Partners, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the management sold a combined 34.5 million secondary shares, including a 4.5 million greenshoe.
Providence owned 88% of KDG prior to the deal.
On its first trading day, the opening share price was E22.50.
Rick van Aerssen, Freshfields partner in the Munich office, commented: ‘This has been the largest IPO in Germany in the last two years and indicates a return of confidence in the capital markets.’
Despite a host of bids of around E5bn-E5.5bn from private equity firms last month, Providence continued to prioritise an IPO over a sale, even with the equity markets in an early stage of recovery and continuing to show signs of volatility. KDG is on the lookout for further consolidation acquisitions in the market and is confident of achieving significant future growth especially in the cable and TV on demand sectors.
