Providence calls off Phones4U sale

Greg Gille
@unquotenews
23 December 2010

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Providence Equity has postponed plans to sell mobile phone retailer Phones4U, according to media reports.

An exit was rumoured to be in the works last September, after Providence received a number of unsolicited offers for the company. Many of the big-name bidders - including Blackstone and UK mobile phone operator Everything Everywhere - reportedly dropped out of the race in December. Phones4U is thought to be worth in the region of £700-800m.

Providence and Doughty Hanson acquired Phones4U and its phone distribution arm 20:20 Mobile Group in August 2006 for £1.46bn. Providence retained the retail arm Phones4U while Doughty Hanson took control of 20:20 Mobile Group.

"Following the receipt of a number of unsolicited expressions of interest for Phones4U, Providence conducted a process to explore strategic options for the company. After concluding this process, Providence has determined it can realise the most value through its continued ownership of Phones4U," a Providence spokesman told the Press Association.

The spokesperson went on to say that Phones4U is performing strongly and expects to generate underlying earnings of £130m in 2010, a 23% increase on the previous year.