Magyar Telecom (Matel) announced an agreement to sell its subsidiary Invitel Group to the China CEE Investment Co-operation Fund, advised by CEE Equity Partners. The proposed sale, approved unanimously by Matel’s board of directors, is subject to shareholder and Hungarian competition authority approval. Magyar Telecom is owned by the private equity fund Mid Europa Partners, which also confirmed the intended sale.
The agreement values the Invitel Group, Hungary's second-largest fixed operator with a network covering over 1 million homes and businesses, at an enterprise value of HUF 63 billion (EUR 202 million), or 4.5x 2015 EBITDA. Invitel Group consolidated sales for 2016 were around HUF 45 billion and EBITDA was HUF 14 billion.
Upon completion of the deal, Matel plans to redeem its outstanding notes, distribute the net transaction proceeds to shareholders and wind itself up.
