Ziggo to sell 20% stake on public market

Dutch cable operator Ziggo has set an indicative price range of between €16.50 and €18.50 per share for the forthcoming IPO that will see the company sell an expected 35 million shares on the NYSE Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange.

The IPO will involve the sale of shares by Ziggo’s founding shareholders, which include affiliates of Cinven and Warburg Pincus plus an over-allotment option of up to an additional 15% of the offered shares. These would together represent about 20.125% of Ziggo’s total issued share capital after the IPO has taken place.

Ziggo’s offering is expected to be valued at between €664-€745 million, making this the largest IPO to be launched in Europe in almost a year and the largest in the Netherlands since 2009. The Ziggo offering is widely seen as a litmus test for further public offerings by cable companies as private-equity owners seek to cash out some or all of their investment.

The offer and subscription period for institutional and retail investors is open until March 20, with the pricing and determination of the exact number of shares to be offered expected to be announced the following day.