Spanish cable group Ono forges ahead with Madrid float plans
Ono, the Spanish cable group at the centre of takeover interest from Vodafone and John Malone’s Liberty Global, is forging on with its own plans to float in Madrid after filing documents with the Spanish regulator.
The group has submitted a preliminary prospectus to the Comisión Nacional de Mercado de Valores, the market regulator, signalling the start of the process to raise equity that could value the group at as much as €7bn.
Those familiar with the situation said that both a sale or listing were being considered in order to raise the most money for the company, which has its own ambitions in using the money to acquire businesses in a fragmented Spanish cable market.
Ono is interested in several cable and telecoms businesses, said an informed person, mainly in northern Spain where the group’s coverage is less extensive. These include two private equity owned companies: Telecable, which is controlled by Carlyle, and R Cable, which is owned by CVC.
Ono is also interested in another company, Euskaltel, although the person added that this deal was seen as less likely.
The filing of the preliminary prospectus gives the group three months to make its formal application to float. Ono has not before acknowledged the plans to list. The company declined to comment on the filing of the prospectus.
The plans could be derailed by bids from either Vodafone or Liberty Global, however, which are both interested in acquiring the company.
The company’s investors – which include Providence Equity Partners, Thomas H. Lee Partners, CCMP Capital Advisors, and Quadrangle Capital – have spoken to Vodafone and Liberty Global about a sale of the company.
The two groups have crossed swords before in their rival attempts to consolidate the European cable industry when bidding for Germany’s Kabel Deutschland last year.
Neither company has made an approach to the board of Ono, said an informed person, which has remained focused on the flotation plans. The company is still talking to banks to advise on the initial public offering process.
Ono is expected to benefit from the recent boom in valuations for cable operators, with comparable flotations of groups such as Numericable in France met with high levels of investor demand.
The company will update the market on its recent trading in the next few days, said one person with knowledge of the situation, which is expected to show an improvement in mobile subscription numbers and internet customers, offsetting the effect on revenues from competition in the pay-TV market.