Cinven Confirms Bid and Investment Strategy for Telekom Slovenije

LONDON, April 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Cinven today confirms that it made a binding offer ("Binding Offer") for the Slovenian government's stake in Telekom Slovenije d.d. ("Telekom Slovenije " or "the Company") on Monday, 13 April 2015.

Cinven's strategy for Telekom Slovenije - restore the Company's position as a Slovenian champion 

Cinven's intentions for Telekom Slovenije are to invest significantly to upgrade the network, to stop the Company's revenue decline, stabilise and then grow revenues sustainably for the long term.  

We intend to achieve this through:

• significant investment in Telekom Slovenije's networks:
  • Increasing substantially the investment in fibre optic networks, in order to offer high-speed broadband across Telekom Slovenije's fixed network;
  • Increasing Telekom Slovenije's 4G coverage on its mobile network, with a target to cover 90% of the population;
• investing in the sales channels and customer service of Telekom Slovenije, to reverse its decline in market share in recent years;
• optimising Telekom Slovenije's processes to improve its products and services for the benefit of Slovenian consumers, businesses and the public sector;
• developing the Company as a "Slovenian champion": an independent Slovenian company that will provide high quality products and services to its customers.

We believe that these investments will be beneficial to the Slovenian economy and broader society, and they will create sustainable employment growth.

We believe that Telekom Slovenije represents an attractive, although challenging, investment opportunity, which fits well with Cinven's experience in the telecoms sector.

Cinven is able to make these investments in Telekom Slovenije because of Cinven's considerable sector expertise and experience of investing in telecoms across Europe.

Cinven's track record in telecoms 

Cinven is a leading European private equity firm which has been investing in companies in Europe since 1977. Cinven is one of the leading investors in telecoms in Europe, and has invested in telecoms transactions valued at over €10bn.

Cinven has led the consolidation of the European telecommunications markets in both France and the Netherlands and made substantial investments to upgrade the networks of its telecoms investments including Numericable (France) and Ziggo (the Netherlands). In both cases, Cinven eventually listed the companies on the local stock markets (in France and the Netherlands), once the investment and network upgrade were completed.

Cinven is a patient and long-term investor. In the case of Cinven's other European telecommunications investments, Numericable and Ziggo, we invested in these for 10 years and 7 years respectively.

We take a responsible approach towards our portfolio companies, their employees, suppliers and the local environment.

Bid considerations 

Pursuant to the rules of the privatisation process, Cinven is not prepared to comment on the value offered for the Government's stake in the business and the implied value in relation to 100% of the Company.

Cinven is engaged in a dialogue with the SDH and their advisors to discuss its offer and is looking forward to concluding a transaction on mutually agreeable terms.

Commenting on Cinven's investment rationale, Nicolas Paulmier, Partner at Cinven said:

"Telekom Slovenije is a company that Cinven can help prosper and make more competitive in the future. We intend to restore Telekom Slovenije's position in the market through significant investment. We intend to invest in the development of the Company's telecommunications infrastructure and network to deliver the highest quality broadband fixed and mobile networks for Slovenian citizens and businesses.  

"In this way, we believe we can support Slovenia's competitiveness in the region and in Europe, and we can make a long-term success story out of Telekom Slovenije that will showcase the attractiveness of Slovenia to global investors." 

For more information, please contact our advisors:

Cinven Partners LLP
Vanessa Maydon
Tel: +44(0)207-661-3325
Email. vanessa.maydon@cinven.com

FTI Consulting
Edward Bridges
Tel: +44(0)207-269-7147 / +44(0)7768-216-607
Email. edward.bridges@fticonsulting.com