Deutsche Telekom circles Primacom

Deutsche Telekom is one of at least four bidders attempting to acquire German cable operator Primacom, according to local press reports.

Other bidders for the operator, which has around one million customers mostly in eastern Germany, are said to include Star Capital Partners – the owner of cable network Pepcom – DTK Deutsche Telekabel, and an unknown financial investor, according to the Financial Times Deutschland.

Analysts believe that Telekom, which was recently defeated by Kabel Deutschland in its attempt to acquire cable operator Tele Columbus, would like to capture a share of the housing association market for bundled TV and broadband access, which is currently dominated by cable.

Liberty Global-owned Unitymedia was also earlier reported to be interested in bidding for Primacom.

According to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the bidding process, Primacom could fetch over €250 million.
Primacom is currently owned by creditors including Alcentra Europe, Avenue Capital, ING Group and Tennenbaum Capital Partners.