19th Dec 2005 12:00
For release at Midday Monday 19th December 2005Candover acquires Norwegian cable TV operator UPC Norway from Liberty Global for an enterprise value of ¢â€š¬450 millionCandover*, a leading European buyout specialist, today announces that it hassigned an agreement to acquire Norwegian cable TV operator UPC Norway ("UPCN"),from Liberty Global for an enterprise value of ¢â€š¬450 million. This is the firstinvestment to be made from the ¢â€š¬3.5bn Candover 2005 Fund, which had its finalclosing in November 2005.Equity funding will be provided by the Candover 2005 Fund and management, withdebt and mezzanine financing underwritten by Credit Suisse First Boston("CSFB"). The acquisition is conditional upon regulatory approval and isexpected to complete in late January 2006.UPCN is a leading cable company in Norway servicing 350,000 homes in Oslo andthe major cities of Southern Norway. The Company serves its customers with aunique triple play offering combining television, telephony services and highspeed broadband internet. UPCN has upgraded a significant portion of itsnetwork to an advanced fibre and coax infrastructure. Under the new ownership,the Company will complete the upgrade of its network. UPCN is headquartered inOslo and employs 323 people.Candover is backing an experienced management team with an accumulated 55 yearsof industry experience. Gunnar Evensen, CEO of UPC Norway, commented:"We are delighted to be working with Candover. We have ambitious plans to growour business and are very pleased to have a partner that will help us toperpetuate our position as the pre-eminent triple play provider in Norway. Weare committed to ensuring our customers get a high value added service over theyears ahead".Commenting on the transaction, Candover Director John Arney, said:"We are delighted to be backing Gunnar Evensen and his team to continue theimpressive growth achieved by UPCN over the last few years. UPCN occupies anenviable market position and we intend to invest further to upgrade thenetwork, and expand the multimedia and data communication services offered toUPCN's customers".Candover has established a strong presence in the Nordic region throughinvestments such as Thule in Sweden, the world leader in sports utilitytransportation, and oilfield services provider Vetco Aibel in Norway.Candover's European investments in communications and media distributioninclude Crown Castle International Corporation, Kabel Deutschland and ONO.The Candover team was led by John Arney and Julian Delano, Directors and SimonHolden, Investment Manager.Candover was advised on the transaction by Castlegreen Partners and CSFB (M&A),Clifford Chance and Steenstrup Stordrange (legal), Deloitte & Touche (financialand commercial), and Hardiman Telecommunications (network).-Ends-*Candover means Candover Investments plc and / or one or more of itssubsidiaries, including Candover Partners Limited as General Partner of theCandover 1994, 1997 and 2001 Funds and as Manager of the Candover 2005 Fund.For further information, please contact:For UPC Norway:Gunnar Evensen, Chief Executive + 47 21 90 67 50For Candover:John Arney / Julian Delano +44 (0) 207 489 9848Tulchan CommunicationsJulie Foster / Peter Hewer +44 (0) 20 7353 4200Notes to EditorsCandover is a leading provider of private equity for larger European buyouts.Investments in deals by Candover is provided in two forms, from CandoverInvestments plc, a publicly quoted investment trust, and from funds managed byCandover Partners Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary.The Candover Group has three offices in London, Paris and Dƒ¼sseldorf, and alocal advisor in Madrid. Candover Partners is authorised and regulated by theFinancial Services Authority in the UK.Candover Partners Limited 20 Old Bailey London EC4M 7LN Telephone +44 (0)207489 9848 Fax +44 (0)20 7248 5483e-mail info@candover .com www.candover.com Authorised and regulated by theFinancial Services Authority.ENDCANDOVER INVESTMENTS PLCRelated Shares:
CDI.L