When the new Deutsche Telekom CEO Ren’ Obermann took over, there was plenty of advice in the press and among analysts for DT to cut back and sell off non-core operations. For non-core read non-German and anything in markets where the competition is too hot.
France is certainly one such market and what appeared to be analysis turns out now really to be leaks, with AFX citing quotes this week from Neuf Cegetel executives and from Noos-Numericable management that they indeed are openly bidding to buy out the French Club Internet DSL customer base that Deutsche Telekom bought in 2000.
Back then it was supposed to boast over 4 million, mostly dial up, lines, and today everyone is talking about 600,000 broadband lines and 400,000 dial ups that remain. The business is understood to be on the market for around €340 million ($456 million).
Deutsche was hoping to merge Club Internet into its Europe wide T-Online operation and last summer began offering its own triple play, using Microsoft’s IPTV, in a hybrid service with digital terrestrial TV, and a VoD library of 1,000 films.
Neuf Cegetel has its own ADSL IPTV services and Noos is a cable operation which has had its ownership bounced around. It was bought in July 2004 by UPC, part of Liberty Global and sold on to private equity group Cinven inside a year.
Another report from AFX says that the owners of Free, the other successful French DSL IPTV service is also bidding. France Telecom is not thought to be bidding, but with the exception of France Telecom, that makes up all of the major French DSL operations bidding that also offer IPTV.
Back in mid-2005 T-Online also acquired Spanish network operator Albura including 7,500 kilometers of fiber, and 160 unbundled DSLAMs. Expect that to be up for sale next, while DT holdings in the far less competitive Croatia, Slovakia, and Hungary are all expected to remain under the Deutsche banner.