Phones4U sale to net £1.1bn

The sale of Caudwell Communications, the owner of Phones4U and a string of other businesses, will be completed possibly as soon as tomorrow.

The mobile phone retailer is expected to fetch £1.1bn, and will be purchased by the private equity companies Providence Equity Partners and Doughty Hanson.

John Caudwell, who founded the company with his brother Brian in the 1980s, owns 85 per cent of the business and is set for a massive windfall. Brian owns a 10 per cent stake.

The sale has taken longer than expected as the buyers will split the business between them, making the sale more complicated. Providence will take the Phones4U retail chain while Doughty Hanson will purchase the logistics, handset distribution and mobile phones accessories divisions.