ETC Group to Acquire BTV Multimedia

• Transformative acquisition furthers ETC’s international expansion
• Builds ETC’s position in DACH and the Nordics with complementary assets and expertise
• Adds leading brands and products as well as an enhanced logistics footprint

8 February 2023, Hanover, Germany & Eaubonne, France – ETC Group (ETC”), one of the leading providers to the telecom network and technology infrastructure industry, announced today the acquisition of BTV Multimedia GmbH (BTV”), a leading German provider to the broadband industry. The financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Founded in 1993 by Cédric Varasteh, ETC Group is a provider of passive and active telecommunications equipment and tooling with leading technical and logistics solutions for network deployment, upgrades, and maintenance, supporting FTTH, FTTx, HFC, Wi-Fi, 5G/mobile, and data center technologies with over 30 years of extensive industry expertise. ETC Group has over 1,200 employees across more than 40 locations that span 14 countries including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Portugal, and supports 14,000+ customers worldwide including major American and European operators and telecommunications service providers. The Group’s comprehensive portfolio of 55,000+ products from close to 1,000 industry-leading suppliers, along with their value-added supply chain solutions, support carriers’ seamless delivery of high-speed Internet, Video, Data, and Voice services to residential, business, and mobile users.

Founded in 1986 as braun teleCom GmbH and headquartered in Hanover, Germany, BTV provides passive and active equipment for broadband network deployment, maintenance and upgrades and was acquired in 2018 by DBAG ECF III (advised by Deutsche Beteiligungs AG). With its significant reach, most notably in the German market, the acquisition of BTV complements ETC’s recent organic growth and supports its continued expansion in the DACH and Nordic regions, which have rapidly growing broadband markets and network upgrade requirements. This acquisition also allows ETC to leverage BTV’s more than 2,500 customer relationships and accompanying deep local market expertise.

In October 2022, international private equity firm, Cinven, acquired a majority stake in ETC Group from Carlyle, with Cédric Varasteh and Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (CETP”) reinvesting for significant minority stakes alongside Cinven.

Cédric Varasteh, Founder and Chairman of ETC Group, said: BTV has a compelling set of attributes which make it the perfect fit for ETC, including an impressive team with outstanding technical capabilities and expertise across both active and passive equipment, a significant platform across DACH as well as a presence in Denmark, a strong and extensive set of blue-chip customer relationships, and a suite of high quality products with cross-selling potential among ETC’s existing portfolio and customer base. We look forward to working with Joe and the entire team at BTV as we continue to execute on our ambitious growth plans.”

Joe Doering, CEO of BTV, added: We are pleased to join ETC Group, one of the category leaders in the highly fragmented telecoms infrastructure and technology market. Combining our presence across the rapidly growing broadband markets in DACH and the Nordics offers an attractive strategic fit which we believe will position the group to deliver growth over the long term. We look forward to working with the ETC team on this exciting next step for our business.”

Thomas Railhac, Partner at Cinven commented: Leveraging BTV’s significant expertise and assets will bolster ETC’s position as a leading provider of services to the telecom and technology infrastructure industry. We believe capturing the significant opportunity in this sector, driven by technological change and network resilience, will enable ETC to deliver long-term growth. BTV’s presence in key European markets for broadband growth and network maintenance gives ETC greater scale and the ability to offer even better support to its customers in accelerating their network upgrades and deployments. We look forward to working with Joe and the entire team at BTV.”

Cyril Bourdarot, Managing Director on the Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (CETP”) advisory team, said: Our newly formed partnership with Cinven is aimed at further accelerating ETC’s development. We believe this transformative acquisition will accelerate ETC’s plan to create a global, industry-leading multi-billion dollar provider to the telecom sector. We have every confidence that BTV will continue to prosper as part of the enlarged group, building on its presence in DACH and beyond.”

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the coming months.

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