A host of private equity firms appear to be lining up bids for German cable operator Kabel Deutschland (KDG), which has been preparing for an IPO.
As was the case with Germany’s number two cable firm Unitymedia last month when Liberty Global came in to…
A host of private equity firms appear to be lining up bids for German cable operator Kabel Deutschland (KDG), which has been preparing for an IPO.
As was the case with Germany’s number two cable firm Unitymedia last month when Liberty Global came in to buy it when an IPO looked certain, KDG could also be dissuaded from a public listing.
CVC and Carlyle are widely tipped to be the two sponsors with the most interest in the asset and could be putting together consortiums with a view to bids of around E5bn.
The deal would represent the biggest LBO for some considerable time and a return to big ticket action for sponsors that have been forced into the background in recent years.
It is possible that Advent International could be set to bid alongside Carlyle, while BC Partners and Apollo Management are also rumoured to be in the running.
Providence Equity Partners, which currently own 88% of KDG, had been working towards an IPO exit and was believed to have mandated Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS to arrange the deal. It is not yet clear who, if anyone, has a sale mandate for the company, which could prove to be a more profitable exit.
Meanwhile, Unitymedia today announced that following regulatory approval it has now completed its £3.5bn acquisition of Unitymedia.