EQT in €3.1bn cable exit

EQT Partners has agreed to sell Kabel BW, Germany’s third largest cable network provider, to Liberty Global for approximately €3.1 billion.

The Stockholm-headquartered firm purchased a 100 percent stake in the company from The Blackstone Group in 2006, investing from Funds IV and V. Since acquiring the business, EQT has increased sales by 120 percent to €563 million and EBITDA by 160 percent to €316 million. Kabel BW was the first large scale operator to introduce “triple-play” digital cable television, broadband Internet and telephony services on a single platform in Germany.

“Kabel BW is one of the most successful companies in the European cable market, in terms of sales increase, profits, technology and services,” said Gunner Asp, advisor to EQT and chairman of Kabel’s advisory board, in a statement.

Since 2010, Kabel BW has also offered mobile voice services and mobile data transmission.

EQT is expected to launch its sixth fund this year, having closed Fund V on its €4.25 billion hard cap in December 2006.

Last month, the firm acquired 100 percent of Taiwanese TV channel operator Gala TV (GTV) alongside its CEO Poa-Chuan Lin. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In December of last year, EQT Partners raised a little more than €350 million for its debut credit opportunities fund. The firm has raised more than €13 billion since its establishment, and has invested roughly €9.7 billion in more than 85 companies.