Providence buys Ukrainian FiberNet

FiberNet is owned by Hungarian telco Invitel, whose Hungarian operation is owned by private equity firm Mid Europa Partners. T

Providence's first toehold in Ukraine came in late 2007 when it purchased Volia Limited from specialist Ukrainian private equity firm SigmaBleyzer.

Invitel announced a sale and purchase agreement regarding the sale of FiberNet assets at the end of last year. UPC Hungary now owns one third of FiberNet, and Providence is acquiring its Ukrainian operations.

Rothschild advised FiberNet on its restructuring and the disposal of its Ukrainian operations.

Invitel acquired FiberNet in January 2010, one link in a chain of private equity ownership for the two companies. Argus owned the company in the early noughties, selling it on to Warburg Pincus in 2004, which held the business until January 2010, when Mid Europa-backed Invitel bought it.

Invitel too has a rich history of private equity ownership: GMT and Mid Europa acquired Invitel in May 2003 from Vivendi Telecom International S.A. for €325m. Under their ownership, EBITDA increased from €59.1m in 2002 to €82.4m in 2005. The two owners completed a partial sale back to management in 2006 before fully exiting the company in 2007 for €470m to Hungarian Telephone & Cable Corp.

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