Liberty Global still eyeing Ziggo
November 21, 2013
Liberty Global is still considering a consolidation of Ziggo to expand in the Netherlands, after the operator had rejected its offer last month.
“We clearly are looking long term about the possibility of a combination,” Liberty Global CFO Charles Bracken said at an investor conference in Barcelona. “There are clearly synergies, however Liberty is very disciplined about prices.”
Bracken said that for now, Liberty Global is happy to maintain its stake of about 29 per cent of Ziggo, which will be led by Rene Obermann from Deutsche Telekom AG in the new year. Liberty Global has sought to extend its reach in Europe, acquiring the UK’s Virgin Media for about $16 billion this year and attempting to buy Kabel Deutschland before being outbid by Vodafone.
The company may also look at buying out the minority stake in Telenet ,a Belgian cable TV provider, Bracken said. Liberty Global currently holds about 58 per cent of the company.