German cable operator Tele Columbus could postpone its plans to hold an initial public offering (IPO) by the end of the year amid a slump in European shares, Reuters reports, citing unnamed sources. The cableco says that it is continuing to monitor the development of the stock market with regard to a potential listing, but added that ‘since the announcement of our plans to go public, volatility and uncertainty in global stock markets have increased considerably, due to macroeconomic developments not related to the company Tele Columbus.’ At the end of last month Tele Columbus said it planned to raise at least EUR300 million (USD380.6 million) from an IPO and would use the proceeds from the new shares for a comprehensive refinancing of its debt, giving it more scope to invest for future growth. However, two people familiar with the considerations told Reuters that the firm is likely to postpone the publication of its IPO prospectus until after this week or even to next month. Tele Columbus has until the end of October to start the subscription period based on second-quarter results; listing rules would then require it to first compile its third-quarter results, meaning the IPO would have to be delayed to next month at the earliest.
TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database notes that in 2009 Tele Columbus was sold to its creditors, including York Capital, Alcentra, GoldenTree Asset Management and the Bank of Ireland, as part of a financial restructuring. In February 2013 a move by Kabel Deutschland to acquire the cableco for EUR618 million was blocked by the Federal Cartel Office. Tele Columbus provides cable TV, broadband internet access and voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) telephony services to around 1.7 million connected households in Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, as well as a number of focus areas in western Germany.