German cable tv Kabel Deutschland announces IPO plans

German cable television operator Kabel Deutschland announced plans for an initial public offering after a planned billion-euro sale by owner Providence Equity Partner fell through. "The IPO will only be comprised of shares sold by the existing shareholder," Kabel Deutschland said on Tuesday. It said that the shares to be offered in the IPO will be listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It did not publish any further details of the planned IPO. Sources had told Reuters last week that private equity group Providence expected the listing to lead to a higher valuation of the company than an outright sale. At least four private equity houses - Advent, Carlyle, Bain Capital and a consortium of CVC Partners and BC Partners - had bid between €5bn and €5.5 bn for Kabel Deutschland, sources said. Providence owns 88 per cent of Kabel Deutschland. Other shareholders in the business, which has 9 million cable customers in 13 of the 16 German states, are Teachers' Pension Plan, holding 8 per cent, and management with 4 per cent.