KKR sells Versatel stake to United Internet for €1.25bn

KKR acquired Versatel in July 2011, following a voluntary public takeover offer worth €242m.

Under the GP's stewardship, Versatel expanded its fibre network in response to increased demand for business-to-business bandwidth and the need to connect mobile base stations with fibre infrastructure.

Following the trade sale, United Internet, the Germany-based internet services company, will own 100% of Versatel.

The deal is subject to standard regulatory approval.

Earlier this month, unquote" analysed the current opportunities for private equity in the German telecoms and media sector, including KKR's desire to capitalise on predictions that German cable and telecoms companies will invest up to €50bn in high-speed broadband networks.

Previous funding
KKR acquired Versatel in a take-private deal in 2011, having signed a binding agreement with Apax Partners, Cyrte Investments and United Internet to acquire 92% of the company's issued shares. At the time the company had an enterprise value of approximately €591m.

Apax acquired a majority stake in Versatel for €565m in 2005, before listing the company on the Frankfurt stock exchange in April 2007. In June 2010, French private equity house Chequers Capital acquired the company's cable network business Versatel Kabel for €66m, allowing Versatel to focus on business-to-business operations and signalling its complete withdrawal from the end-customer cable market.

Company
Berlin-based Versatel was founded in 2005 and is a provider of telecommunications and data services. The company claims to have the second largest fibre network in Germany, reaching 19 of the 25 largest German cities.

People
Henrik Kraft is head of KKR Europe's technology and telecommunications team. Johannes Huth is head of KKR's EMEA operations.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Exits
• Technology
• DACH
• Germany
• KKR