Carlyle completes US$1.7bn French investment

Carlyle said on Tuesday that it has completed its €1.1bn (US$1.7bn) equity investment in telecommunications companies, Numericable and Completel, acquiring a 37.8% stake from existing shareholders Altice and Cinven, at an aggregate enterprise value of €6.5bn.

The equity investment is the largest ever made by a single private equity firm in France, Carlyle said in a statement.

“Carlyle’s financial strength and depth of experience, gained from numerous investments, including Casema, Com Hem, UPC Sweden and Bredbandsbolaget in Europe, will enable us to be a strong partner to management and existing shareholders, Altice and Cinven, in progressing the companies’ development,” commented Benoît Colas, a managing director at Carlyle.