Providence Equity preps Kabel sale

PROVIDENCE – Providence Equity Partners is preparing to sell Germany’s biggest cable television operator in a deal that could be worth as much as $7 billion, according to news reports.
Six private equity firms have expressed an interest in Kabel Deutschland GmbH, Dow Jones Newswire reported last week. The cable company declined to comment.
Providence-based ProvEquity holds an 88 percent stake in the company, while Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan holds 8 percent and Kabel Deutschland managers account for the remaining 4 percent of the shares.
BC Partners Ltd. and CVC Capital Partners Ltd. have made a joint bid and the other bidders are Advent International Plc, Bain Capital LLC, Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman LLC, Dow Jones said.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Kabel Deutschland also is preparing an initial public offering that could come as early as the second quarter.
Kabel Deutschland, Germany’s largest cable TV operator with about 9.1 million households, provides television, broadband Internet and fixed-line telephone services.
Providence Equity Partners Inc. is a global private investment firm – based in Providence, with offices in Los Angeles, New York City, London, Hong Kong and New Delhi. The firm has invested in more than 100 companies, operating in nearly two dozen nations, since its founding in 1989. Additional information is available at www.ProvEquity.com.