Tele Columbus AG (ISIN: DE000TCAG172) has been listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 23 January. A total of 51,022,500 shares were placed in the IPO, of which about 33.3 million were new shares from a capital increase. The total issue volume including greenshoe was approximately €510 million. The initial listing price was €10.70; the issue price was €10.00.
“We are delighted to have Tele Columbus AG open the 2015 IPO year on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. With a listing in Prime Standard the company has selected the segment with the highest transparency requirements. Tele Columbus is thus excellently positioned for investors,” said Gregor Pottmeyer, CFO of Deutsche Börse AG.
Ronny Verhelst, CEO of Tele Columbus AG, said, “As a listed company Tele Columbus will be even better able to exploit growth potential in future. Direct access to the capital market increases our financial flexibility and thus provides ideal conditions for us to further develop our market position as number three in Germany – one of Europe's most attractive cable markets – in the next few years.”
Goldman Sachs International and J.P. Morgan Securities plc were joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners of the IPO. BofA Merrill Lynch and Berenberg were additional joint bookrunners. Rothschild acted as financial advisor to the company.
According to company sources, the Tele Columbus Group is one of the largest cable network providers in Germany. The company is the result of a merger between regional cable network providers, and thus has a corporate history dating back to 1972. Tele Columbus provides some 1.7 million households with a TV signal, and ever more customers with digital channel packages, Internet access and telephone lines via broadband cable. As a national provider with a regional focus, and as a partner to the housing associations, the group is active throughout the core area of Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, as well as in selected regions in Western Germany.