Deutsche Telekom has cancelled the sale of T-Mobile Netherlands, CEO Timotheus Höttges has said. The company had reportedly attracted interest from private equity firms Warburg Pincus and Apollo, but the offers were too low.
Deutsche Telekom (ETR:DTE) has cancelled the sale of T-Mobile Netherlands, after receiving low offers from private equity firms Warburg Pincus and Apollo.
Speaking to Bloomberg TV, CEO Timotheus Höttges said: “We don’t see an opportunity at this point in time, we’re not planning to sell off the asset right now.” He, however, added that “we have the opportunity to consider other deals in the Netherlands”, also mentioning that the unit now boasted a nationwide 4G network.
The bids, which according to Bloomberg came in at €2.5bn to €2.7bn (US$2.8bn to US$3.1bn), were below the previously reported €3.6bn price tag valuing the unit at 8x its €450m (US$506m) EBITDA.
Spokespeople for Warburg Pincus and Apollo declined comment.
Many saw the agreed fixed/mobile JV between Vodafone (LSE:VOD) and Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) as having disrupted the T-Mobile Netherlands process, especially as the cable group had at least initially been seen as the frontrunner.
The market has become more competitive since the entrance of low-cost 4G provider Tele2 in November 2015, posing a challenge to number three player T-Mobile, which reportedly lost a million subscribers between 2011 and 2014.
At group level, though, Höttges said revenue had grown 10% year-on-year. While singing the praises of convergence – highlighting BT’s recent acquisition of EE as an example – he said that T-Mobile Netherlands could follow the lead of another mobile-only business, T-Mobile US, in offering more aggressive price plans.
Credit Suisse was advising Deutsche Telekom.