PRINT THIS PAGE Permira-backed German pay-TV Premiere plans to raise €1.2bn with March IPO23/02/2005. Source: AltAssets. 
 Premiere's shareholders, including European private equity giant Permira, HVB Group, BayernLB and Premiere chief executive officer Dr Georg Kofler, are planning to sell 42m shares at a price range of €24-28 each to institutional and private investors. The shareholders have chosen a price range at the lower end of analyst valuations for the IPO in March to increase investors' interest.
Premiere, with 3.25 million subscribers, is the largest pay-TV broadcaster in Germany. Permira owns 55 per cent of Premiere, which was part of the Kirch media empire until it collapsed in 2002. Under Permira's auspices, the firm has undergone a major turnaround and a return to profitability. Following the IPO, the private equity firm will retain a stake in Premiere.
The IPO will be the first major flotation in Germany since Postbank in the summer of 2004. It would also represent an important exit for Permira, which has struggled to match the high profile success of its Homebase exit at the start of 2003.
Permira is presently investing from the largest European buy-out fund on record, the €5.1bn vehicle it raised in 2003. The firm made a string of large investments in 2004, including the buy-out of UK motoring organisation the AA, the Spanish divisions of retailer Ahold, and the Bermudan satellite operator Intelsat.
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