Tele Columbus lenders to force sale

Lenders to German cable operator Tele Columbus have taken legal action to force owner Escaline to auction its stake in the operator, according to local reports.

Escaline is a subsidiary of investment company Escaline Sarl and owns holding company Orion Cable, owner of Tele Columbus. Shares in Orion are up for sale but if a buyer doesn’t emerge over the next few weeks, the lenders will take control of Orion and therefore ownership of Tele Columbus, according to local reports.

Tele Columbus has three million customers, mainly in eastern Germany, and has an equity value of approximately €800m, but it also has debt of €950m.