In a statement on its website, German regional cable operator Tele Columbus has said that it is continuing to review its strategic options on how to position and finance the company in the medium to long term. In response to recent media speculation, the firm clarified that it has not yet made a decision on whether to proceed with an initial public offering (IPO), although it added that it is evaluating if such a move ‘could be beneficial to the company and its stakeholders at some point in the future’. Last week Reuters cited unnamed sources as saying that Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan had been selected by Tele Columbus for a potential IPO later this year.
TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database notes that Tele Columbus provides cable TV, broadband internet access and voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) telephony services to around 1.7 million connected households in its core eastern areas of Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Mecklenburg Western Pomerania, as well as parts of western Germany. In 2009 the company was sold to its creditors, including York Capital, Alcentra, GoldenTree Asset Management and the Bank of Ireland, as part of a financial restructuring.