Tele Columbus receives fresh capital from financial restructuring

German cable network operator Tele Columbus has announced the successful completion of its financial restructuring, with the new owners pledging to plough additional capital into the company for investment and growth. As part of the restructuring agreement with the firm’s creditors, Tele Columbus’ debt has been reduced by over EUR400 million (USD538.2 million), while around EUR35 million of fresh capital will be invested in the cableco. Tele Columbus’ former owners, a consortium led by restructuring specialist Nicholas & Co., has handed over ownership to Tele Columbus Management, which plans to invest around EUR200 million into the company over the next three years. Commenting on the restructuring, Dietmar Schickel, COO at Tele Columbus Group, said: ‘The restructuring agreement documents the great confidence of our lenders in Tele Columbus, the cable infrastructure and in our business model. On this basis, we will develop our business with new partners, alongside continuous collaboration with our partners in the housing industry in the long term.’ The Tele Columbus Group will now concentrate on the continued consolidation of its cable networks by focusing on states in eastern Germany and some regions in the west of the country. In these core areas new investment will allow greater scope for the network upgrade of new services, such as High Definition (HD) TV and broadband internet access at download speeds of up to 100Mbps.