Swedish investment firm Kinnevik has acquired an 18.5 per cent stake in Swedish cable-television operator Com Hem in a deal that makes it the biggest owner of the company.
Kinnevik has agreed to acquire 33.9 million shares in Com Hem from NorCell, the indirect investment holding company of funds advised by London-headquartered private equity firm BC Partners, in a deal worth SEK3.7bn (€386.2m/$411.7m) in total. The deal is expected to close on Thursday.
“As a big investor within communication and entertainment in the Nordics… when this stake was for sale we thought it would complement (Swedish telco) Tele2 and (media company) MTG in our portfolio,” Kinnevik acting chief executive Joakim Andersson said, according to the Reuters news agency.
“We think Com Hem is a strong and good company with good growth, good profitability and (a) good cash generator.”
In July, Com Hem agreed a multi-year deal with MTG for carriage of the multi-territory commercial and pay-television broadcaster’s channels. The contract made Viasat Sport Premium’s content, which includes English Premier League football, available to Com Hem subscribers.