Public Takeover of PrimaCom AG by Omega I S.à r.l./ Orion Cable GmbH
27 October 2007 - German cable network operator Orion Cable acquired a 91% stake in listed Primacom AG
German cable network company Orion Cable has acquired a stake of 90.89% in rival German operator Primacom AG. This follows a lengthy takeover battle with German competitor Kabel Deutschland GmbH, which had also hoped to take over Primacom. In September, Kabel Deutschland withdrew its bid for PrimaCom after Orion agreed to sell 1.2 million customers to KDG for EUR 585 million.
Prior to the public takeover offer, Orion Cable GmbH had purchased 5,287,200 shares (representing a stake of 26.7%) of Primacom AG from Liberty Global in August 2006.
In July 2007, Orion group company Omega I S.a r.l. announced a public takeover bid valuing PrimaCom at EUR 10.00 per share. This equals a market capitalization for PrimaCom of almost EUR 240 million. On 26 September 2007, the PrimaCom management recommended to agree to the offer. Since the additional acceptance period which ended 23 October 2007, Orion Cable and its affiliated companies owned 90.89%.
The takeover of Primacom will give Orion a strong position on the market for connections to households, the so-called network level 4. This market is currently severely fragmented and includes a large number of small regional operators.
Primacom, founded in 1998 (by the merger of SÜWEDA AG and KabelMedia Holding AG), is a major German level 4 cable network operator and has approximately 1 million customers. The company operates and markets two-way capable broadband cable networks and interactive multimedia services. In 2006, PrimaCom generated revenues of EUR 116 million and EBITDA of EUR 50 million.
Orion Cable is an investment vehicle and subsidiary of Escaline S.a r.l. which is owned by, among others, investors Kingsbridge/Hardt Group and Aletheia Partners in addition to ABN Amro and Quilvest. The Orion group now includes the cable network operators Tele Columbus, PrimaCom and EWT.
Corporate Finance Partners acted as an exclusive adviser to PrimaCom AG in this transaction (October 2007).
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German cable network company Orion Cable has acquired a stake of 90.89% in rival German operator Primacom AG. This follows a lengthy takeover battle with German competitor Kabel Deutschland GmbH, which had also hoped to take over Primacom. In September, Kabel Deutschland withdrew its bid for PrimaCom after Orion agreed to sell 1.2 million customers to KDG for EUR 585 million.
Prior to the public takeover offer, Orion Cable GmbH had purchased 5,287,200 shares (representing a stake of 26.7%) of Primacom AG from Liberty Global in August 2006.
In July 2007, Orion group company Omega I S.a r.l. announced a public takeover bid valuing PrimaCom at EUR 10.00 per share. This equals a market capitalization for PrimaCom of almost EUR 240 million. On 26 September 2007, the PrimaCom management recommended to agree to the offer. Since the additional acceptance period which ended 23 October 2007, Orion Cable and its affiliated companies owned 90.89%.
The takeover of Primacom will give Orion a strong position on the market for connections to households, the so-called network level 4. This market is currently severely fragmented and includes a large number of small regional operators.
Primacom, founded in 1998 (by the merger of SÜWEDA AG and KabelMedia Holding AG), is a major German level 4 cable network operator and has approximately 1 million customers. The company operates and markets two-way capable broadband cable networks and interactive multimedia services. In 2006, PrimaCom generated revenues of EUR 116 million and EBITDA of EUR 50 million.
Orion Cable is an investment vehicle and subsidiary of Escaline S.a r.l. which is owned by, among others, investors Kingsbridge/Hardt Group and Aletheia Partners in addition to ABN Amro and Quilvest. The Orion group now includes the cable network operators Tele Columbus, PrimaCom and EWT.
Corporate Finance Partners acted as an exclusive adviser to PrimaCom AG in this transaction (October 2007).
