Telenet has formally closed the acquisition of Coditel Brabant BVBA and its subsidiary Coditel Sarl, together SFR Belux.
On June 13, 2017, Telenet announced that the Belgian Competition Authority had approved the intended acquisition. On the strength of that approval, Telenet and Altice NV closed their agreement on the acquisition of SFR BeLux by Telenet for €400 million on a cash-free and debt-free basis.
The former Coditel cablenets in Belgium and Luxemburg operated under the Numericable brand and changed to SFR at the end of 2015 (in Belgium) an in Luxemburg in February 2016. The networks are active in the greater Brussels area and in Luxemburg.
The acquisition of SFR BeLux is to be financed by a combination of equity and available liquidity under the Company’s revolving credit facilities. To this end, Telenet International Finance S.à r.l., the financing vehicle of the group, has drawn down €120 million under revolving credit facility Z (maturity: June 30, 2018, 2.25% margin above EURIBOR) and €90 million under revolving credit facility AG (maturity: June 30, 2023, 2.75% margin above EURIBOR). The remainder will be financed with equity. Telenet will use the future cash flows for early repayment of its outstanding liabilities under these revolving credit facilities.
The acquisition of SFR Belux will enable Telenet to extend its cable footprint in Brussels, part of Wallonia and parts of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and to position itself as a convergent telecom operator in Belgium for residential and business customers.
Telenet confirms the previously communicated projected annual run-rate synergies of €16 million by 2021[1], as well as the planned investment of approximately €12 million over the 2017-2018 timeframe beyond the normalized capex run-rate to modernize the acquired cable network.
