HEDNO bids confirmed Friday, sale price of over €1.7bn seen

Just three days remain before claims, for some time now, concerning binding bids from three major funds in the 49 percent sale of distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO can be confirmed.

US fund CVC Capital, as well as Australia’s Macquarie and First Sentier, are all believed to have submitted binding bids, while the participation of KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P.) remains uncertain. All will be confirmed this Friday.

More crucially, the bids will reveal whether the sale of DEDDIE/HEDNO’s 49 percent stake can exceed a price of 1.7 billion euros, as contended by bank and financing sources.

If these market projections are confirmed, the sale will be considered a resounding success as the DEDDIE/HEDNO stake will be sold at 1.18 times its Regulatory Asset Base (RAB).

According to a latest DEDDIE/HEDNO evaluation, assisted by professional services provider Grant Thornton, the operator’s total value is worth 2.95 billion euros.