Outremer and Safestore to IPO

Apax backed Outremer Telecom has revived pre-marketing for its cira €200m IPO through lead managers Lazard Natixis and SG. The French overseas colonies telecom operator is awaiting approval from the regulator, but bankers expect the roadshows to get under way this week.

The transaction was put on hold just ahead of the roadshows last month after the regulator asked for clarification on termination rights – the fees charged to other network operators for use of Outremer’s network. The company has now filed an addendum to the regulator incorporating a clear list of tariffs for 2007 and 2008.

Outremer was bought by Apax Partners in a deal that closed in early January 2005. The purchase price was rumoured to be about €70m. Financing for the acquisition was provided by Barclays and Outremer’s turnover in 2004 was €68m, up from €60m in 2003.

The company provides fixed-line and mobile telecoms services in the four French overseas “departments” of Martinique, French Guiana, Reunion and Guadeloupe.

In December 2005, it also launched a mobile service in the Antilles.

UK self-storage group Safestore launched its IPO last week with a deal size of up to £259m. The company is offering 35m primary shares and 61m secondary shares, for a free-float of 50% post shoe. The price range is set at 220p–270p and pricing will take place on March 8.

Even at the bottom of the range the company is valued at a substantial premium to NAV and would give it a market cap of £415m–£501m. Merrill Lynch and Citigroup are joint global co-ordinators and bookrunners.

Bridgepoint backed the September 2003 £39.8m public-to-private of Safestore and has since carried out a number of bolt-on acquisitions. In June 2004, it acquired rival Mentmore in a “transformational” £209m transaction, followed by the purchases of Access Self Storage of France and Storage World in the UK, both for undisclosed sums.

In July last year, Bridgepoint carried out a £237m refinancing of Safestore, with Merrill Lynch and Royal Bank of Scotland as joint mandated arrangers, returning £101m to institutional shareholders.