The private equity owners of French cableco Numericable have appointed Rothschild for advice on a possible listing, according to Reuters citing four people with knowledge of the matter.
Cinven, Carlyle and businessman Patrick Drahi’s Altice Group…
The private equity owners of French cableco Numericable have appointed Rothschild for advice on a possible listing, according to Reuters citing four people with knowledge of the matter.
Cinven, Carlyle and businessman Patrick Drahi’s Altice Group have yet to appoint bookrunners for the IPO, which would reportedly value the company at between €4bn (US$5.3bn) and €5bn (US$6.6bn).
In mid-April, it was reported that Cinven might actually be the only owner exiting the cableco, while Carlyle and Altice would stay on board.
A listing was not the only option considered by those firms. In late February, it was suggested that Numericable was preparing a cash offer for Vivendi’s telecoms unit SFR with the view to a possible future merger.
But SFR’s chairman, Stephane Roussel, confirmed yesterday (12 June) that an IPO of the operator was in the pipeline. Vivendi officials were quoted as saying a float could take place at the end of 2014 or beginning of 2015.
Cinven, Carlyle and Altice declined to comment on the report while Numericable was not immediately available for comment.
