Phones4U sold in private equity deal

Despite a drop in its valuation, Phones 4u is still growing strongly, reporting a 20% increase in sales last year to more than £900m Phones 4u has been sold to private equity house BC Partners in a deal worth up to £700m after the mobile retailer’s owners performed an about-turn on disposal plans. The chain of more than 500 stores was sold by Providence Equity Partners in a secondary buyout worth between £600m and £700m. Providence bought the business from John Caudwell as part of a wider £1.46bn deal in 2006, in a transaction that netted the entrepreneur £1.2bn. The move comes months after Providence called off a planned sale after failing to draw a satisfactory offer. Phones 4u is still growing strongly, reporting a 20% increase in sales last year to more than £900m. BC said it expected to grow the business further as smartphones like the iPhone spur another surge in the mobile market. “With its market-leading position, strong and trusted brand, multi-format strategy, and extensive store network, Phones 4u is ideally positioned to benefit from further strong growth in the smartphone market. We look forward to working with management, and investing further across the business to maximise its growth potential,” said Andrew Newington, managing partner at BC. Tim Whiting, Phones 4u’s chief executive, said: “I am delighted to have the backing of BC Partners. Their track record of growing businesses is hugely impressive, and I am looking forward to working with them in the years ahead.” London-based BC has a portfolio of 16 companies that generate a combined turnover of €27bn (£23bn). The investments include Foxtons, the estate agent firm, the Fitness First gym chain and Intelsat, a satellite company. In 2003 it sold a stake in Trader Media Group, owner of Auto Trader magazine, to Guardian Media Group, publisher of the Guardian, in a deal valuing the business at more than £1bn. Private equity Telecommunications industry Retail industry Mobile phones Telecoms Dan Milmo guardian.co.uk

Posted by on March 18, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.