2017/06/26

Euskaltel's General Shareholders' Meeting approves the acquisition of Telecable

Shareholders back Euskaltel Group's management and approve the 2016 annual accounts and dividend distribution

Euskaltel's General Shareholders' Meeting approves the acquisition of Telecable

  • The General Shareholders' Meeting gives the go-ahead for the acquisition of Telecable, the leading operator in Asturias, acquiring 100% of share capital from Zegona.
  • The Euskaltel Group consolidates its position as the leading convergent telecommunications operator in the north of Spain.
  • This acquisition is a strategic move for the Euskaltel Group, enabling the objective of consolidating cable services in the north that was set during the flotation process to be met.
  • The Euskaltel Group will now provide services to a market comprising 6 million people, with 2.4 million services delivered every day to over 800,000 customers and consolidated revenue of €711 million, EBITDA at €346 million and cash flow of €224 million.
  • Francisco Arteche, Euskaltel's CEO, has emphasised the Group's strong cash generating capacity, enabling a dividend payout of €0.36 per share to shareholders, which represents a return of over 4%. A total of €54.6 million will be paid in dividends.
  • Shareholders back the Board of Directors' management and approve the 2016 annual accounts and dividend distribution.
  • The General Meeting has also approved the appointment of three new directors: Luis Ramón Arrieta, who joins the board as a proprietary director to replace Alfonso Basagoiti, Robert Samuelson, a proprietary director proposed by Zegona, and Jon James as independent director.
  • The social value generated by Euskaltel in 2016 was €318.1 million, relating to the value generated by the organisation for society as a whole, including the value created by the company through its own business activity and also the value distributed outside the market.
  • To show that CSR is linked to the company model, in May 2016 the Group's (Euskaltel and R) corporate social responsibility policy was approved, aiming to create value for stakeholders.
  • The Group confirms the forecast growth in profitability, enabling the Group to maintain a "sustained and growing" shareholder remuneration policy.

Bilbao, 26 June 2017. Euskaltel Group's shareholders have approved the acquisition of Telecable at the ordinary general shareholders' meeting held this morning at the Group's headquarters in Derio (Bizkaia). At this meeting, the company's highest decision-making body approved by majority the proposals put forward, which included confirming the acquisition of Telecable, approving the share capital increase required for this transaction, approving the distribution of dividends to shareholders, approving the 2016 annual accounts and appointing new directors.

By approving the acquisition of Telecable, the main operator in Asturias, the objective set by Euskaltel following its flotation on the stock market to become the leading convergent operator in the north of Spain has been met. This acquisition is a completely strategic move, involving the integration of the three most important convergent operators in the north of Spain into the same Group.

From a financial perspective, consolidating results increases the Group's revenue to €711 million (+24%), with Ebitda at €346 million (+23%, with a 48.6% margin on sales) and cash flow of €224 million (+21%, with a 31.5% margin on sales), maintaining one of Europe's highest cash generating ratios in the industry. The resulting group will hold on to the local character of Euskaltel, R and Telecable in the Basque Country, Galicia and Asturias, respectively, allowing for the continuity of their brands and professional teams.

Alberto García Erauzkin, Chairman of the Euskaltel Group, noted that the acquisition of Telecable is a new milestone in Euskaltel's history, completing the significant consolidation of cable services in the north of Spain. "In just over two years, three major challenges have been met: the company's IPO, creating the leading telecommunications group in the north of Spain following the integration of R in Galicia in 2015 and the forthcoming integration of Telecable in Asturias, and a solid shareholder remuneration policy through the distribution of dividends".

García Erauzkin added that this milestone and its related actions "clearly demonstrate our commitment, reinforcing our quest to add value to investors, offering the latest products and services to our customers and professionally developing and motivating our human resources, while generating wealth and promoting economic, social and technological development in the communities we operate in through R in Galicia, Euskaltel in the Basque Country and, soon, Telecable in Asturias".

Francisco Arteche, the Group's CEO spoke positively of Telecable joining the Euskaltel Group, "meeting the objective set by Euskaltel following its flotation on the stock market of becoming the leading convergent operator in the north of Spain. Telecable's contribution to the new Group will represent around 15% of its business. This acquisition is a completely strategic move for Euskaltel, due to the complementary nature of both assets and the high level of synergies expected once the transaction is completed".

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Euskaltel - Communication Department
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