Tele Columbus has announced it will list shares on the Frankfurt stock exchange in the first half of the year, market conditions permitting, to boost growth and reduce debt.
The German cableco, which ranks third in the German market after Vodafone’s…
Tele Columbus has announced it will list shares on the Frankfurt stock exchange in the first half of the year, market conditions permitting, to boost growth and reduce debt.
The German cableco, which ranks third in the German market after Vodafone’s Kabel Deutschland and Liberty Global’s Unitymedia Kabel BW, had first announced in September its intention to float the business by the end of 2014.
However, it decided in mid-October to postpone its plans due to volatile market conditions.
The company expects to raise €300m (US$361m) from the sale of new shares as well as shares from existing shareholders, excluding a greenshoe option of up to 10% of the primary base offering, Tele Columbus said in a statement.
Proceeds from the offering will be used to refinance debt and execute its growth strategy, the cableco said. Tele Columbus is targeting a leverage of 3 times to 4 times normalised EBITDA, which may temporarily increase in case of accelerated investments or acquisitions.
Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are acting as joint global coordinators on the IPO, together with BofA Merrill Lynch and Berenberg as joint bookrunners. Rothschild is serving as financial adviser.
Commenting on the IPO plans, Tele Columbus CEO Ronny Verhelst said: “Our positive business development in the first nine months of 2014 confirms that we have made the right choices to drive growth and further increase our operating profitability. With a very attractive customer base, we are convinced that we are well positioned to continue to expand our market position in one of Europe’s most attractive cable markets over the coming years.”
Berlin-based Tele Columbus provides cable television, broadband and telephony services to 1.7 million households, with a particular focus on Eastern Germany, although it also aims to expand in selected Western German regions.
The company plans to continue investing to further migrate networks from third-party level 3 operators and further expand its customer base, which includes large and small housing associations.
Tele Columbus, which is owned by several hedge and credit funds via a Luxembourg-based holdco, posted revenues of €159.3m in Q3 2014, with a €72.9m EBITDA.
In 2013, Kabel Deutschland made an unsuccessful attempt to acquire Tele Columbus, meeting resistance from the German antitrust regulator.