Spanish cable operator Ono is moving forward with its plans to float on the stock exchange and could be valued at EUR 7 billion, including debt, reports the Financial Times. The company is currently in the process of selecting banks to advise on the listing, as it seeks to take advantage of a buoyant equity market. JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank are currently being considered, according to people close to the decision-making cited in the report, but they added that there was no guarantee that the group’s various shareholders would finally agree on the plans.
The possibility of going public is a long-held ambition of the Spanish operator, which has around 1.7 million residential cable customers, 1.35 million internet customers and over 1 million mobile customers. The company’s extensive fibre network, which covers around 7 million households, could be an asset for operators looking to sell high-margin data services.
However, the report adds that Ono’s IPO process could be derailed by interest in the company from other telecoms groups, above all Vodafone, which is interested in expanding its fixed and mobile operations in Spain. Orange and Liberty are two more potentially interested parties.
