Reuters: Carlyle’s CommScope Picks Banks for IPO – Sources

Carlyle Group LP has selected banks for an initial public offering of telecommunications equipment company CommScope Holding Co Inc, which was taken private in 2011 for $3.9 billion, sources told Reuters.

(Reuters) – Carlyle Group LP has selected banks for an initial public offering of telecommunications equipment company CommScope Holding Co Inc, which was taken private in 2011 for $3.9 billion, three people familiar with the matter said this week.

Hickory, North Carolina-based CommScope has hired JPMorgan (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to lead the deal, which is likely to come later this year, two of the sources said.

Carlyle, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank declined comment. CommScope did not respond to a request for comment.

The company is a major manufacturer of cables that underpin high-speed data networks. It traces its roots to Superior Cable Corporation, a telephone cable company created in 1953, and changed ownership several times until it went public in 1997.

The company had revenues of over $3 billion in the 12 months ending March 2013, according to Moody’s.

Moody’s Investor Service Inc said in May it expected CommScope to show modest growth over the next twelve months, driven by wireless carriers spending on infrastructure. Revenues are expected to organically grow at 2 percent to 4 percent on average over the next several years, it added.

Earlier this month, CommScope acquired lighting performance solutions provider Redwood Systems Inc for an undisclosed amount, aiming to strengthen its position in the building infrastructure market.

Other private equity firms are also exploring IPOs in companies that they invested in relatively recently.

EP Energy LLC, for instance, is also talking with banks about an IPO this year, people familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this month. The oil and gas company was acquired just last year by a consortium led by Apollo Global Management LLC (APO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for $7.15 billion in the largest U.S. leveraged buyout of 2012.