Freenet buys 24% in Swiss operator Sunrise

News General Switzerland 18 MAR 2016
Freenet buys 24% in Swiss operator Sunrise
German operator Freenet is continuing its expansion through takeovers with the purchase of a 23.83 percent stake in the Swiss operator Sunrise. Freenet said it agreed to pay EUR 714 million for the shares from CVC Capital and will buy another 0.73 percent in the company next month. It's also entitled to Sunrise's dividend of EUR 3 per share for 2015. 

Both Freenet's CEO, Christoph Vilanek and its CFO, Joachim Preisig will have a seat on Sunrise's board of directors, and Sunrise said it welcomed the additional expertise from the TMT sector. Freenet said it's been studying Sunrise for some time and sees similarities in its business model to the German operator, in terms of cash orientation and the financial profile. 

The acquisition is expected to add around EUR 10 million in EBITDA this year, and led Freenet to raise its annual targets to EBITDA of just over EUR 410 million and free cash flow of around EUR 330 million. Freenet maintained its target for leverage of 1.0-2.5x. The company took out a three-year bridge loan, with interest at Euribor plus 2.1 percent, to pay for the acquisition. 

Categories:

General

Companies:

Sunrise,  Freenet

Countries:

Germany,  Switzerland

Tags:

M&A buyouts & divestments

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