German cableco Tele Columbus has reportedly hired Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan to coordinate an IPO scheduled for later this year.
The Hanover-based company, Germany’s third-largest cableco, aims to take advantage of buoyant equity markets, according…
German cableco Tele Columbus has reportedly hired Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan to coordinate an IPO scheduled for later this year.
The Hanover-based company, Germany’s third-largest cableco, aims to take advantage of buoyant equity markets, according to a Reuters report citing two people familiar with the matter.
Tele Columbus, owned by several hedge and credit funds via a Luxembourg-based holdco, and the two banks have declined to comment.
It emerged in May that Tele Columbus had invited banks to participate in a potential listing on the Frankfurt stock exchange in the second half of the year.
The company has been up for sale repeatedly in the past but failed to find a buyer.
In 2013, Germany’s largest cableco KDG, now owned by Vodafone, made an unsuccessful attempt to acquire Tele Columbus, meeting resistance from the German antitrust regulator.
Tele Columbus has also sought to play an active role in in-market consolidation, making a takeover offer for smaller rival Primacom last year. However, Primacom rejected the offer, saying it considered itself a buyer rather than a seller. This March, Primacom acquired smaller player DTK Deutsche Telekabel in a deal it contended is likely to trigger further consolidation.
Tele Columbus reported sales of €224m in 2013 and EBITDA of €90m.