Deals

Riverside to buy telecoms business

The Riverside Company, an international private equity firm, will acquire ONITelecom, beating off competition from Vodafone.

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The Riverside Company, a mid-market private equity firm, which invests in North America and Europe, will buy ONITelecom from electricity company Energias de Portugal for €160 million ($206 million).

ONI: telecoms

ONI, a Portuguese independent fixed-line communications provider, is reportedly expected to achieve a capital gain of €105 million for Energias de Portugal.

Gestmin, a Portuguese investment holding, which is owned by Champalimaud, and Riverside’s most recent European Fund, REF III, will provide financing for the deal.

GBS Finanzas, a Madrid-based independent mergers and acquisitions firm, advised Riverside and Gestmin.

The deal follows recent activity in the telecoms industry from venture capital firm Index Ventures.  Last month Index Ventures injected $10 million of a $20 million Series A funding round in internet-focused voice services business Rebtel Networks, alongside co-investor Benchmark Capital.

Riverside specialises in companies with enterprise values lower than $100 million.  Since 1988, the firm has invested in 144 transactions with a total value of $2.7 billion, sales of $2.5 billion and EBITDA of $323 million.