Firstcom owner Oakfield mulls exit options via KPMG

Dominic Pasteiner and Charlie Taylor-Kroll
23 August 2023

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The owners ofТ FirstcomТ are in the early stages of exploring a sale of the pan-European cloud telecoms provider, according to two sources familiar with the matter.Т

The company's shareholders, which include Oakfield Capital Partners, are working with KPMG to evaluate sale options for the Bolton, UK-headquartered unified communications telephony specialist, the sources said.

Deliberations over a sale are at an early stage with a formal process unlikely to take place before 2024, the sources said. No final decision has been made on the timing of a potential process, the sources added.

Firstcom is expected to be marketed off EBITDA in the region of GBP 8m-GBP 10m, the two sources and a sector banker said. The company generated adjusted EBITDA of GBP 6.4m in the year to 31 December 2022, down from GBP 7.1m recorded the year before, according to company filings. Worsening GBP/EUR exchange rates and reduced operating profits in Denmark contributed to the fall. Revenues rose to GBP 38.4m from GBP 37.3m in the period.

Founded in 2004, the company operates in the UK Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Poland. Its product range includes unified communication solutions which can be accessed by fixed line phones, mobile handsets or computers.

Oakfield added Firstcom to its portfolio in December 2018 and, in January 2019, it led a new expansion capital round to support the company's expansion strategy both through organic growth and consolidation. Beechbrook Capital and Firstcom's management also participated in the round.

In August 2020, the company completed an agreement with Kartesia Advisors for a new senior loan facility of EUR 29m for its ongoing buy-and-build strategy and to refinance its existing debt arrangements.

Firstcom has been acquisitive under Oakfield's investment, most recently through its acquisition of UK-based Calteq in October 2022, which was expected to add an extra GBP 6.2m of turnover and GBP1.2m of EBITDA to the group, according to a press release.

Representatives for KPMG and Firstcom declined to comment. Oakfield did not respond to requests for comment.