Germany’s Kabel Deutschland (KDG) has confirmed that it plans to undertake an IPO in Frankfurt.
Although the company has not disclosed the size of the stake to be listed, a source familiar with the deal told TelecomFinance that it would be worth ‘over…
Germany’s Kabel Deutschland (KDG) has confirmed that it plans to undertake an IPO in Frankfurt.
Although the company has not disclosed the size of the stake to be listed, a source familiar with the deal told TelecomFinance that it would be worth ‘over E1bn’.
A number of private equity groups, including BC Partners with CVC, Advent International, Bain Capital, Carlyle and Hellman & Friedman all submitted bids of around E5bn-E5.5bn earlier this month and according to TelecomFinance sources they were ‘very serious about the deal and had been working flat out for weeks’.
One source has suggested that the sponsors may yet be in with a shout of taking a stake: “The IPO would be later in the year and an M&A deal is never off the agenda until the IPO happens. Some of the private equity firms may stay around for a split structure and maybe try to take a stake prior to the IPO.”
As reported in TelecomFinance earlier in the month the IPO remained the priority for KDG’s private equity owner Providence Equity Partners. At that time one banker close to the deal said: “The focus is very much on the IPO. There is no M&A process as such, it is reactive rather than pro-active,” in response to the buyout bids.
Now it seems as though preparations for an IPO, for which Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS are mandated, are to be stepped up in the near future.
KDG is the leading cable operator in Germany and reported net profits E23.1m in the first nine months of this financial year.
