LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. is in exclusive talks to buy German telco Versatel AG (VTW.XE), a person familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday.
The company's history dates back to 2005 when Apax Partners acquired the German assets of Versatel Telecom International NV and combined them with its Tropolys unit, forming one of the biggest telecommunication providers in Germany. The financial investor remained Versatel's dominant shareholder after the company went public in 2007.
The two other main Versatel shareholders are investment firm Cyrte and telecommunication and Internet service provider United Internet AG (UTDI.XE), which together with Apax control more than 90% of the company's stock. As of Tuesday's close, Versatel's market capitalisation stood at nearly EUR300 million.
A sale would come at a time in which the company is going through a major revamp. Versatel offers tailor-made telecommunication solutions for companies and leases network capacities, but also sells broadband offers to retail customers, a business that has been suffering from price erosion as market penetration is already well advanced.
As a result, Versatel has shifted its focus to the more lucrative corporate business, and last year initiated a restructuring program that includes the reduction of 370 jobs.
Versatel said last week it expects sales to fall to about EUR650 million this year from EUR725 million in 2010, and operating profit to drop to around EUR145 million from last year's earnings before one-off items, interest, taxes, deprecation and amortization, or adjusted Ebitda, of EUR171 million.
|