Apax Moves to Buy Out Warburg's Stake in Dutch Telecoms Group Odido
Apax is nearing an agreement to acquire Warburg Pincus's stake in Odido, valuing the Dutch telecoms group at about €6.5 billion.
Private equity firm Apax is close to a deal to buy out Warburg Pincus's stake in Odido, the Dutch telecoms group the two investors jointly own, in a transaction that would value the company at approximately €6.5 billion ($7.4 billion).
The move follows a period of uncertainty for Odido, which put its planned initial public offering in Amsterdam on hold in February. The listing was postponed after investors responded tepidly and amid worries about the scale of volatility in global equity markets.
In the same week that the IPO was shelved, the telecoms operator disclosed a cyberattack that exposed personal information linked to more than six million accounts.
Since then, the owners have drawn interest from potential buyers, including Saudi Arabia's state-backed telecoms group STC.
Apax and Warburg Pincus took control of the business in 2021, when it operated under the name T-Mobile Netherlands, at an enterprise value of €5.1 billion.
Apax, Warburg Pincus, Odido and STC did not respond to requests for comment made outside regular business hours.