Cancom Weighs Options After Receiving Takeover Approaches

(Bloomberg) -- Cancom SE and its largest shareholder are considering options after receiving approaches in recent months about a potential buyout of the German technology services provider, people with knowledge of the matter said.

While suitors have held initial discussions about a deal, their interest cooled as Cancom stock continued to climb, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Shares of Cancom jumped 5.1% to 53.75 euros at the close Monday in Frankfurt, extending this year’s gains to 88% and giving the company a market value of about 1.9 billion euros ($2 billion).

Cancom’s three co-founders jointly hold about a 10% stake. Potential suitors could include buyout firms such as EQT and Permira that have invested in the European technology industry, as well as larger rivals like CDW Corp., Germany’s Bechtle AG or an arm of Japan’s Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp., the people said.

“We have repeatedly received expressions of interest in Cancom and continue to weigh our options in the best interest of the company and its shareholders,” co-founder Klaus Weinmann said by phone Monday. He declined to comment further.

Deliberations are an an early stage, and there’s no certainty any firm offers will emerge, the people said. Representatives for EQT, NTT, Permira and Munich-based Cancom declined to comment, while a representative for CDW didn’t respond to requests for comment. Bechtle isn’t currently holding any talks with Cancom about a possible takeover, Chief Executive Officer Thomas Olemotz said by email.

Bankhaus Lampe KG said in a January research note that Cancom is a possible acquisition target because it’s one of only a few European IT service providers that have grown to a critical size. Cancom’s revenue has nearly quadrupled over the past decade to hit 1.38 billion euros in 2018.

Cancom last month won inclusion in Germany’s MDAX mid-cap index, which typically attracts buying from institutional investors who track the benchmark gauge. The company said in mid-August it expects “very significant” growth in this year’s revenue and profit, thanks to “extremely high IT investments” from health-care companies and the public sector.

--With assistance from Sarah Syed, Grace Huang, David Verbeek and Kiley Roache.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eyk Henning in Frankfurt at ehenning1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kenneth Wong at kwong11@bloomberg.net, Ben Scent, Michael Hytha

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