Cinven, through its investment vehicle CB Luxembourg III S.à.r.l. (“CB III”), today agreed to sell all of its 25,196,325 shares of Eutelsat Communications S.A. (“Eutelsat”) in two transactions at a price of €15.50 per share. In the first transaction CB III agreed to sell holdings representing approximately 10.9% of Eutelsat to Abertis Telecom S.A. (“Abertis Telecom”), a division of the Spanish-based infrastructure group Abertis Infraestructuras S.A.. CB III also agreed, in the second transaction, to sell a stake representing approximately 0.8% of Eutelsat to Lehman Brothers International (Europe).
The transaction with Abertis Telecom remains subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in early 2007.
Cinven is pleased to announce this transaction. Abertis is a highly regarded industrial group and is a long term partner for Eutelsat. Cinven believe Abertis will bring value to the operations of Eutelsat and further support its management strategy.