EQT exits Blizoo to Telekom Austria

Mikkel Stern-Peltz
30 July 2015

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EQT Partners has agreed to sell Bulgarian cable operator Blizoo to Telekom Austria Group after six years of ownership.

Pending regulatory approval, EQT's 2006-vintage EQT V fund will fully exit the internet, TV and fixed-line telephony operator to Telekom Austria. The GP had previously sold Blizoo's Macedonian subsidiary to Telekom Austria in June last year for a reported seven-figure euro sum.

EQT's sale of Blizoo comes 18 months after the GP called off its previous divestment attempt, having reportedly sought between €175-200m for the company in a process led by Jefferies and UniCredit. At the time, Blizoo's full-year results showed sales of €56m and EBITDA of €23m, compared to €47m of sales and €19m in EBITDA for 2014. It is understood the fall in EBITDA is the result of the sale of Blizoo Macedonia which had a 2014 EBITDA of around €4m.

Blizoo was the result of EQT's €200m dual buyout of Bulgarian cable TV operators Eurocom and CableTel in October 2009. Under the GP's tenure, the two companies were merged to form Blizoo.

The deal is expected to close in the final quarter of 2015.

Company
Blizoo is a cable TV, internet and fixed-line telephony operator headquartered in Bulgaria, created by the 2009 merger of Eurocom and CableTel.

The business employs 1,200 people and claims to serve 373,000 customers in Bulgaria. Last year the company posted sales of €47m and EBITDA of €19m. Blizoo had €67m in revenues and €31m in EBITDA when it was acquired by EQT in 2009, before the carve-out of Blizoo Macedonia.

People
Dominik Stein is a partner at EQT. Harald Rösch is the CEO of Blizoo.