Ziggo sets IPO price range

Ziggo NV, a Dutch cable-TV and telephony provider backed by Warburg Pincus and Cinven Ltd., Friday, March 9, set a price range for an IPO which would be worth up to €744.6 million ($985 million).

The IPO, which would raise no new money for the company, would be the largest in Europe since Spain's Bankia SA raised $4.4 billion last July, and the largest in the Netherlands since 2009.

Investors will sell 35 million shares of Ziggo with an option to sell a further 5.25 million shares, which are to be priced between €16.50 and €18.50 apiece.

Including the over-allotment, the offered shares would represent just over 20% of Ziggo's total issued share capital following the closing of the offering.

"The launch of our IPO today is another major milestone for Ziggo and the level of interest we have already seen in the investment community is very encouraging," said Ziggo CEO Bernard Dijkhuizen in a statement.

He added: "We now look forward to meeting prospective investors and sharing with them our plans to realize further growth in the Dutch market."

In its prospectus, Ziggo said it expects to benefit from increasing interest in high-definition content and broadband Internet. At the end of 2010, more than a third of Ziggo's customers had subscribed to triple-pay 'bundles' combining TV, broadband and telephony.

The Utrecht-based company posted Ebitda of €835 million in 2011, up 7.7% from the previous year, and sales of €1.48 billion.

Ziggo was established in 2007 from the merger between @Home, Casema and Multikabel, three of the four largest cable operators in the Netherlands. It began doing business as Ziggo in 2008.

Cinven's website puts the investment for the creation of Ziggo at €5.45 billion.

Ziggo competes on the Dutch broadband market with Royal KPN NV and John Malone's Liberty Global Group, which might have pursued a deal with Ziggo under other circumstances, Liberty CEO Mike Fries said recently. Last week, Ziggo CEO Dijkhuizen said there were no talks between the two companies, telling a Dutch newspaper that Ziggo "doesn't need a merger to be successful."

Ziggo has previously said that its IPO will consist of a partial sale of the stakes held by Warburg Pincus and Cinven, and that it plans to convert about €2.28 billion of shareholder loans into equity.

The IPO will comprise a public offering to institutional and retail investors in the Netherlands and a private placement to institutional investors internationally.

The offer and subscription period for institutional and retail investors is expected to end on Marh 20, with pricing and determination of the exact number of shares offered due to be announced a day later. Shares are also expected to start trading on NYSE Euronext on March 21.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley are the joint global coordinators for the Ziggo IPO. Deutsche Bank AG, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS are acting as joint bookrunners. ABN Amro NV and Rabobank Group are the joint retail bookrunners, while Société Générale SA is serving as the co-lead manager.