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Denmark’s TDC Finalizing Adviser Lineup for IPO – Sources

11 Feb 2010

Denmark’s largest telecoms operator, TDC AS (TDC.KO), is putting the finishing touches to a lineup of advisers ahead of a stock offering which could be worth up to $9 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

(Photo: TDC)

According to Dow Jones, TDC is adopting a twin-track process to selecting advisers for the IPO, including international banks and some Nordic banks, and is close to mandating the banks to arrange the share sale, these people said.

Private equity firms Blackstone Group, Permira, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co., Providence and Apax Partners, who own just under 90% of TDC, haven’t yet decided on a full exit from the business.

However, a full IPO is considered the most likely option. In contrast with some recent planned floats, in which interest from trade or private equity bidders has emerged late on, a stock offering is considered the most likely outcome for the company, these people say.

John Strand, a Denmark-based telecoms consultant who has followed the process, said that a sale to either private equity or a trade buyer is unlikely. “Few (trade) players want to get into the Danish market, particularly as a big part of TDC’s business is fixed-line,” Strand said. Two Nordic rivals, Sweden’s TeliaSonera AB (TLSN.SK) and Norway’s Telenor ASA (TELNY), who might otherwise be interested, would almost certainly be blocked on antitrust grounds, Strand said.

The planned offering also comes amid growing concern that the global IPO market, which had shown signs of renewed vigor towards the end of 2009, may now be on a less secure footing, with some deals pricing poorly and others getting cancelled as markets remain volatile.

Another planned IPO, of German cable operator Kabel Deutschland, has prompted six private equity firms to submit bids for the company worth roughly EUR5 billion, several people familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday.

Local investment banks Danske Bank AS (DANSKE.KO), Nordea Bank AB (NDA.SK) and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB-A.SK) are currently expected to handle Nordic stock placing of TDC. A group of international banks, including JP Morgan (JPM), Deutsche Bank (DB), Credit Suisse (CS), UBS (UBS) and Goldman Sachs (GS) has been short-listed, but it remains unclear whether any of these banks have been mandated.

People familiar with the matter say TDC’s IPO could take place as early as the second quarter of 2010.

The private equity owners bought most of TDC in a 115 billion DKK deal in 2005. The company provides residential fixed-line and mobile voice, Internet and TV services in Denmark and is the second largest communications provider in Switzerland after Swisscom AG (SCMWY). It had 11.7 million customers at the end of 2009, according to the company Web site. Total 2009 revenue was 35.9 billion DKK.