Advanced Television

Sweden’s Com Hem for sale

December 10, 2010

Com Hem is up for sale and expected to fetch 13 billion ($1.89 billion) to 18 billion kronor, according to the Dagens Industri newspaper.

Swedish telco Telia and Norway’s Telenor are named as the potential buyers, of the private equity owned operator. Telia spun the company off in 2003 in order facilitate its bid to merge with Sonera. It was bought originally by Swedish fund EQT who then sold it on to Providence Equity who have put it on the market now.  According to the newspaper Telia has contacted the EU anti-competition authorities to investigate the possibility of bringing Com Hem back into the fold.

Com Hem currently has about 650 employees and reaches a third of Swedish households with its triple play offer. Com Hem reported that its cable broadband Internet customers reached 536,900 at end-September 2010, whilst its cable telephony subscriber base stood at 364,900 at that date.

The operator’s July-September revenues rose by 7 per cent year-on-year to SEK1.08 billion, helping drive quarterly EBITDA up 14 per cent to SEK490 million. Com Hem currently has about 650 employees in Stockholm, Goteborg, Malmo, Vasteras and Harnosand, and operates a triple-play cable network passing nearly 40 per cent of the Swedish population.

Categories: Articles, Broadband, Business, M&A