Euskaltel acquires R for €1.155 billion

Basque region cable operator Euskaltel has acquired Galician operator R for €1.155 billion including debt, in a cash and shares transaction, confirming its role as the consolidator amongst the three independent operators in the northern part of Spain.

The deal values R, which is 70% owned by investment group CVC and 30% by local bank Abanca, at 10.9 time EBITDA. Euskaltel itself has a market value of around €1.202 billion.

The agreement will give CVC a controlling stake in the combined company alongside existing Euskaltel shareholder Kutxabank.

Euskaltel, which recently floated on the Bilbao exchange, is the largest of the three groups, with a subscdriber base of 381,000 and 2014 revenues of €321 million, followed by R, with 333,000 customers and revenues of €234 million.