AXA Private Equity has agreed to sell its majority stake in Outremer Telecom to Altice, the telecoms investment fund.
Jean-Michel Hegesippe, chief executive and founder of Outremer Telecom, and the management team will reinvest alongside Altice.
Founded in 1986, Outremer Telecom is an alternative telecoms operator in the French overseas regions. Through its brand Only, the group operates in two geographic areas: the Antilles and Guyana (Martinique, Guadeloupe and Guyana) and the Indian Ocean (La Réunion and Mayotte). Outremer Telecom provides fixed and mobile telephony, high speed internet access and video on demand to residential and professional customers. In 2012, the company achieved a EUR195m turnover.
Working alongside AXA Private Equity since its original investment, Outremer Telecom has boosted its industry position by launching new offers increasing its market share. Simultaneously, the group is also working on several diversification projects which will be announced in the coming months.
Hegesippe says: “We would like to express our gratitude to AXA Private Equity, specifically the major contribution the firm has made to our recent success. AXA Private Equity has been a quality partner, whose support has left us in a great position to pursue our development and continue to increase our market share.”
Dexter Goei, chief executive of Altice, says: "Following our recent announcement in Portugal, this transaction continues Altice’s strategy of expansion and growth through very attractive in-market consolidation opportunities. We are also extremely pleased to have joined forces with Outremer Telecom, whose management led by Jean-Michel Hegesippe has demonstrated sustained excellence in delivering superior results over a long period of time, and we are looking forward to continuing to support them."
Yann Bak, director in the mid-market enterprise capital team at AXA Private Equity, says: “We are very pleased to have supported Outremer Telecom’s development and to have helped the company strengthen its position as an leading alternative operator with a quad play offer in French overseas regions. Headed by a talented management team, Outremer Telecom is ideally positioned to pursue its growth and further consolidate the telecom market.”
