KDG: IPO a possibility in 2010

German cable operator Kabel Deutschland (KDG) could launch an initial public offering (IPO) next year if market conditions are right, Reuters reports, citing the company’s finance chief Paul Thomason. ‘It is no secret. We are rumoured to be looking at a potential IPO in 2010. I do not know whether that will or will not happen. But we are here to introduce ourselves,’ Thomason revealed at an investor conference in Barcelona. KDG is currently 88% owned by Providence Equity, with the remainder held by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (8%), and company management (4%). Earlier this month, rival cableco Unitymedia announced it was planning an IPO for December, but soon after the company was snapped up by Liberty Global Inc for USD3 billion in cash plus USD2.2 billion in assumed debt.