Greek incumbent OTE has sold satellite operator Hellas Sat to Saudi Arabia-based Arabsat for €208m.
Arabsat agreed to buy a 99.05% stake in the group from OTE, which announced plans more than a year ago to sell the asset to support the refinancing of…
Greek incumbent OTE has sold satellite operator Hellas Sat to Saudi Arabia-based Arabsat for €208m.
Arabsat agreed to buy a 99.05% stake in the group from OTE, which announced plans more than a year ago to sell the asset to support the refinancing of its debt.
The consideration comprises an enterprise value of €157m, representing 7x Hellas Sat’s 2012 EBITDA, and €53.4m for the cash held by the satellite operator. OTE said it will also receive €7m in dividends from the deal.
State-owned Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI), which was one of the minority shareholders of Hellas Sat, will retain a stake in the group to represent the interests of the Greece and Cyprus governments.
OTE CEO Michael Tsamaz explained: “OTE divests Hellas Sat at a satisfactory price, allowing us to focus on our core business.”
Barclays provided financial advice to OTE, which expects to close the deal in Q2 following regulatory approval. Arabsat said its financial and legal advisers were led by Renaissance Capital and Generation Alfa, and which also included Pamboridis LLC, DLA Piper and KPMG.
OTE is 40% owned by Deutsche Telekom, Germany’s telecoms incumbent. The Greek state has a 10% stake in the operator.
