At exit, debitel offered a wide range of telecommunications products and internet services to over 14m customers and was the No. 1 distribution platform for mobile phones in Germany. It was transformed from a wholesale company into a branded retailer with store numbers increasing from 80 to 500 shops, boosting organic and inorganic growth. See how debitel became the clear market leader with our backing…
Debitel
Together we achieved
- A strong position as clear market leader in the German mobile market
- A refocusing of the business through the sale – at attractive multiples – of non-core, sub-scale subsidiaries in Denmark, France and Slovenia.
- A successful shift from wholesale to retail
- Growth in customer numbers from 10.2m in 2004 to 14m in 2008
This was accomplished by
- Improving the business model in Germany by instituting higher-margin contracts with features typical of mobile virtual network operators
- Broadening the product spectrum through the inclusion of DSL and original MNO-products
- Acquiring ‘_dug’, the largest independent retailer of mobile, and Talkline, a bolt-on that added 3.8m new customers
- Generating substantial operational improvements. The three waves of improvement programmes resulted in a total EBITDA contribution of €160m in 2008
The metrics
€842m
Transaction value
2004
Acquisition year
3.1x
ROI
2008
Exit year
Freenet
Sale to
80
Owned stores in 2004
500
Owned stores in 2008