Broadcast and telecoms tower operator TDF, which operates in a number of European countries, is in exclusive negotiations with a consortium of investors to sell all its units, excluding the German ones, for €3.6bn (US$4.47bn).
The consortium comprises…
Broadcast and telecoms tower operator TDF, which operates in a number of European countries, is in exclusive negotiations with a consortium of investors to sell all its units, excluding the German ones, for €3.6bn (US$4.47bn).
The consortium comprises Canadian and Dutch pension funds PSP Investments and APG Asset Management, as well as UK-based Arcus Infrastructure and Canada’s Brookfield Infrastructure.
The Paris-based towerco said the consortium is working with its institutional investor shareholders, which include TPG, Ardian, Bpifrance and Charterhouse, to seek the necessary authorisations as well as appropriate consultations in order to reach a definitive agreement.
Last week, Brookfield said it would buy 50% of TDF’s French assets for €1.78bn, adding that the transaction would close in Q1 2015, subject to regulatory approval.
A TDF deal has long been in the pipeline. Its shareholders first initiated plans to sell part of the company for around €4bn (US$5.4bn) in mid-2013 to repay its debt, then estimated at €3.8bn.
According to a Reuters report, TDF plans to refinance the remaining debt through cash from its balance sheet and €175m of new leveraged loans to be sought in December or January.
Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas are arranging €150m of term loans and a €25m revolver, which will be put on the balance sheet of TDF’s German unit Media Broadcast, an operator of digital terrestrial TV and radio networks, the report said.
TDF provides radio and TV transmission services using its satellite, internet and tower operations, and is present in France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Estonia and Monaco. A few months ago, it sold its Hungarian unit back to the government, at a loss, for US$250m.