Ziggo NV, a Dutch cable company, will come under the Liberty Global umbrella under an agreement announced Monday. (Peter Dejong, The Associated Press) <\/p>\n
AMSTERDAM Liberty Global PLC has agreed to buy Dutch cable company Ziggo NV for $9.44 billion in the latest offensive by Douglas County media mogul John Malone on the European telecommunications industry. <\/p>\n
Liberty Global, Malone's international cable holding company, already owns 28.5 percent of Ziggo and had been in acquisition talks since August. Ziggo said in October that it had rejected a takeover offer but remained in talks, with the cash-and-stock deal finally announced Monday. <\/p>\n
Under the terms of the agreement, which has the full support of Ziggo's management and supervisory board, Ziggo shareholders will get 11 euro ($15.03) in cash, 0.2282 Liberty Global Class A ordinary shares and 0.5630 Liberty Global Class C ordinary shares for each share they own. Based on Liberty Global's share price on Jan. 24, the offer implies a price of approximately $47.19 per Ziggo share. <\/p>\n
Including debt, the deal values Ziggo at $13.7 billion. <\/p>\n
Because of structural challenges and a weak European economy, consolidation in the continent's fragmented telecom industry is widely expected to continue at a brisk pace. London-based Liberty Global has already been an active deal maker on the continent, buying U.K. cable-television and Internet provider Virgin Media for $16 billion last year. It also raised its stake in Telenet Group Holding NV of Belgium. <\/p>\n
Still, Liberty Global sees plenty of scope for further consolidation. \"The European cable sector still has about 6,000 to 7,000 cable companies, compared to about a dozen in the U.S.,\" Liberty Global senior vice president Manuel Kohnstamm said. <\/p>\n
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Liberty Global offers $9 billion for Ziggo<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ziggo NV, a Dutch cable company, will come under the Liberty Global umbrella under an agreement announced Monday. Continue reading