Norwegian cable operator Get looks set to be sold rather than pursue a stock market listing.
Danish operator TDC and private equity funds BC Partners and EQT are all expected to submit bids by 11 September, according to sources familiar with the…
Norwegian cable operator Get looks set to be sold rather than pursue a stock market listing.
Danish operator TDC and private equity funds BC Partners and EQT are all expected to submit bids by 11 September, according to sources familiar with the situation cited by Reuters.
A sale could value Get – currently owned by Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Quadrangle – at €1.4bn (US$1.84bn), the report said.
Get’s owners were said to have hired Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank in May to examine an IPO. They now reportedly appear satisfied with the price they could receive in a private process.
Bankers are reported to be working on debt financing packages for potential buyers of around €1bn (US$1.3bn). Senior leveraged loans, second lien loans and high-yield bonds are all considered as options.
A €1.4bn Get sale would achieve an EBITDA multiple of at least nine times, the report said. That valuation would outstrip that booked by Swedish peer Com Hem, which listed on the Stockholm bourse in June.
In July, Com Hem was reported to be considering an offer for Get although there has been no follow up. Potential bidder BC Partners holds a 47.7% stake in Com Hem following its IPO.
Goldman Sachs and Quadrangle bought Get for €725m in 2007. In 2012 they considered putting the business up for sale and a €1bn-plus price tag was mooted but later decided to reorganise Get’s debt instead and hold on to the cableco.
Get offers triply-play services and is the second-largest supplier of pay-TV and fixed broadband in Norway behind market leader Telenor.