KKR wins battle to buy stake in PagesJaunes

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2006

LONDON (AFP) — US private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) has won the fight to buy France Telecom's stake in the directories business PagesJaunes, the Financial Times newspaper reported.

By buying the 54 percent stake in PagesJaunes for 3.3 billion euros (4.2 billion dollars), KKR will trigger a 6.1 billion dollar leveraged buy-out, the biggest in France's history, the business daily said.

KKR was understood to have entered exclusive negotiations with France Telecom on Saturday and the deal could be concluded by September, said the FT.

The private equity firm had been in a consortium with US investment bank Goldman Sachs, until the latter pulled out on Saturday, before the agreement was signed to buy a majority stake in PagesJaunes.

It had...