CVC mulls Belgian Post IPO

Francinia Protti-Alvarez
30 April 2010

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European investor CVC Capital Partners is said to be eyeing the listing of Belgian mail services De Post – Le Poste.

The private equity backers would float 25% of the company expecting to raise between €500-700m.

Press reports suggest however, that the IPO could be postponed until next year. The company is waiting on a ruling by the European Commission that could see the company forced to pay back state support received in the 1992-2010 period.

In February last year CVC acquired Post Danmark’s stake in the Belgian postal service De Post – La Poste for €373m. The deal comes as CVC pulled out of the proposed merger between Danish postal system Post Danmark AB, in which it held a 22% stake, and Swedish carrier Posten AB. CVC decided to sell its stake in the Danish group because the merger with Posten AB would have diluted its stake to an unacceptably small level.

CVC acquired its minority stake in Posten Danmark in 2005. The same year, the two acquired a 49.9% stake in De Post – La Poste through the joint venture Post Invest Europe Sarl, which was owned 50/50 between the two.