Com Hem bidders given more time

Reuters reports that the two remaining private equity bidding groups for ownership of Swedish cableco Com Hem have been allowed an additional week to prepare binding offers. The news agency quoted sources familiar with the process as saying that BC Partners and a consortium of Cinven and Nordic Capital have been given until 14 July to make final bids for Sweden’s largest cable network operator, currently owned by private equity firms Carlyle and Providence. The sellers are hoping to fetch up to SEK18 billion (USD2.9 billion) in a sale advised by Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley.