The French cableco Numericable plans to list 20-40% of its capital in an IPO that could take place as soon as November and value the company at up to €5 billion.
It will also aim to increase its net capital by between €200-250 million in order to reduce its debt.
The offering will see the private equity group Carlyle and Cinven reduce their stakes, with its other backer Altice increasing its interest.
According to Reuters, Numericable’s owners will also aim to invest between €230-230 million on upgrading its network over the next three years and target annual sales growth of 2-5% between 2013-16.
Speaking in a press conference and quoted by the Financial Times, Eric Denoyer, Numericable’s chief executive, said the IPO would give the company “the means to invest more in our network to drive growth”
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He added that, “by increasing our capital expenditure, we will enter a new growth cycle.”
Numericable’s owners began work on a listing in April after the failure of talks with Vivendi over a possible €15 billion merger with the latter’s mobile operation SFR.
