[iliad Press Release] iliad Group to acquire cable operator UPC Poland
22 September 2021 - 7:00AM
[iliad Press Release] iliad Group to acquire cable operator UPC
Poland
Press
release
Paris, September 22, 2021
iliad Group to acquire cable operator UPC Poland
In accordance with the announcement made on July
30, 2021, iliad Group and Liberty Global today announce that they
have entered into an agreement for Play – a subsidiary of iliad
Group - to acquire 100% of the share capital of UPC Poland for an
enterprise value of PLN7.0 billion.
Transaction rationale
The acquisition of UPC Poland represents Iliad’s
next step in the Polish telecoms market following the acquisition
of Play last year. Together, both operators will become the 2nd
largest telecom operator in the Polish market with 2020 combined
revenues of €1.96 billion and 2020 combined EBITDAaL1 of
€697 million.
UPC Poland is one of the largest internet
service providers in Poland with 3.7 million homes passed in FTTx
and 1.5 million subscribers. UPC Poland generated PLN 1,698
million in revenue and PLN 757 million in EBITDAaL1 in
2020.
Transaction highlights
The acquisition of UPC Poland by iliad Group
represents an enterprise value of PLN7.0 billion
(€1.53 billion2), corresponding to a 2020 EBITDAaL multiple of
9.3x before synergies and c.7x after revenue and costs synergies.
The transaction is to be financed from available cash and debt
issuance at Play's level. The Board of Directors of iliad has
unanimously approved the acquisition.
At closing, UPC Poland will become a subsidiary
of Play. The Group expects the integration of UPC Poland with Play
to support product innovation and investments in fiber networks for
the B2C and B2B segments. Together, Play and UPC Poland will cover
all of Poland, serving more than 17 million mobile and fixed
subscribers as of today.
The announced transaction is expected to close
in H1 2022 after clearance by the relevant authorities. This
transaction is the conclusion of the indicative offer announced on
July 30, 2021 whose terms were communicated to the independent
expert (BMA) as part of the simplified public tender offer.
Thomas Reynaud, CEO of iliad
Group: "The acquisition of UPC Poland comes with a
willingness to accelerate investment in fiber network. At
iliad/Play we are determined to invest in next-generation mobile
and broadband networks and services. This long-term ambition to
foster nationwide connectivity will contribute to the digital
transformation of the Polish economy and benefit the consumers and
businesses with more innovative and comprehensive offers. Once
approved, we look forward to combining forces and welcoming UPC’s
employees to the Play/iliad family".
Jean-Marc Harion, CEO of Play,
added: “The combination of Play and UPC Poland offers a
unique opportunity to take Play to the next level and we are
excited to start working with UPC teams to deliver on our new
ambition. Play has a strong track record of successfully fulfilling
customers’ needs. UPC Poland has built a very strong platform based
on high quality standards. Play and UPC will join their forces to
create a strong convergent operator in Poland.”
1 Equivalent to Liberty Global’s OFCF definition adjusted from
share of central costs2 EUR/PLN of 4.60 as of September 20,
2021
About the iliad Group
Created in the early 1990s, the iliad Group is
the inventor of the world’s first triple-play box and has grown
into a major European telecoms player, standing out for its
innovative, straightforward and attractive offerings. The Group is
the parent of Free in France, iliad in Italy and Play in Poland,
has some 15,000 employees serving 42.7 million subscribers, and
generated €5.9 billion in revenues in 2020. In France, the Group is
an integrated Fixed and Mobile Ultra-Fast Broadband operator and
had over 20 million retail subscribers at June 30, 2021 (13.3
million mobile subscribers and 6.8 million fixed subscribers). On
March 23, 2021, it launched its B2B activity in France under the
Free Pro brand. In Italy – where the Group launched its business in
2018 under the iliad brand, becoming the country’s fourth mobile
operator – it had over 7.8 million subscribers at end-June 2021.
With the acquisition of the Polish mobile operator Play in November
2020, the iliad Group has become Europe’s sixth-largest mobile
operator by number of subscribers (excluding M2M). iliad is listed
on Euronext Paris (under the ILD ticker symbol).
Find out more at:
www.iliad.fr/en
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iliad
Contacts:
Investor relations: ir@iliad.frPress relations:
presse@iliad.fr
Exchange: Euronext
Paris |
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