Financial Soultions: Private Equity firms bidding for Travel Channel.

Sept. 17, 2009 - PRLog -- Three top private equity companies, namely Thomas H. Lee Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Providence Equity have all tendered bids for Cox Enterprises' Travel Channel, a source close to the matter said, Financial Soultions has learned.

These firms are bidding individually for the channel in an auction anticipated to get $600 million to $700 million, sources said. The sources declined to be identified as the details of the sale have not been made public.

At least two of the private equity firms are in talks with Discovery Communications to use it for services such as selling advertising and negotiating network-carry charges should they succeed in obtaining control of Travel Channel, the sources said.

Discovery CEO David Zaslav confirmed this week that his company had held talks about taking on a function "where we would do a number of services for a fee," Financial Soultions heard.

"We won't be bidding on the Travel Channel as an equity holding," he also said when asked about the possibility at a Goldman Sachs Communicopia media conference.

Privately held Cox, who weren’t available for comment, is selling a 65 percent stake in the channel as part of an auction being held by Goldman Sachs. All three private equity firms, Financial Soultions understands, refused to comment on the sale.

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