Billionaire Petr Kellner eyes $5 billion IPO for telecoms unit CETIN

Czech Republic’s richest man Petr Kellner has selected banks to help explore the potential for publicly listing its telecommunications network group CETIN. According to Forbes, Kellner’s network is almost $19.7 billion.

Cetin is a part of PPF Group, an international investment group majority-owned by Czech billionaire Petr Kellner. Bloomberg reported Kellner’s PPF Group NV was working with BNP Paribas SA, Morgan Stanley, and Societe Generale SA to study options, including an IPO, with sources suggesting that such a move could value the business at around $4.8 billion.

Cetin, which was founded in 2015, currently runs the largest data and communications network in the Czech Republic, managing more than 44,000 km of fiber-optic cable, and runs a cellular network covering 99.7% of the Czech population, according to its website. CETIN provides cellular network signal (2G, 3G, and 4G LTE) through approximately 6,200 outdoor base stations and 1,400 micro base stations (which are mainly used inside buildings). Its grid covers 99.7% of the Czech population.

Petr Kellner began his career in the 1990s selling office supplies, and then started an investment fund which he used to buy a controlling stake in the biggest Czech insurance company during privatization.

PFF Group is the main shareholder in consumer finance company Home Credit, which operates in 10 countries. He also has holdings in telecom firm O2 Czech Republic, PPF Bank and commercial real estate holdings.