Money

TV3's Malone set to exit Germany in €18bn Vodafone deal

May 09, 2018 12:39·
Getty Images Liberty Global chairman John Malone

Getty Images Liberty Global chairman John Malone

"Liberty is offloading businesses in Germany and eastern Europe.in a move that will enable Vodafone to become the big quad-play provider in the region", said ETX Capital analyst Neil Wilson, referring to bundles sold to customers comprising fixed and mobile phone services along with broadband Internet and pay-television.

British telecoms giant Vodafone announced Wednesday an 18.4-billion-euro deal to buy parts of Liberty Global's operations that will make it Europe's largest cable and broadband operator. This includes businesses in Germany, Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic.

Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao said the acquisition will make the company "Europe's leading next generation network owner, serving the largest number of mobile customers and households across the European Union".

Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao said the company is "committed to accelerating and deepening investment in next-generation mobile and fixed networks".

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The deal is likely to face a lengthy regulatory approval process, with rivals such as Deutsche arguing that it will give Vodafone too much control of the market.

The two companies, which already have a joint venture in the Netherlands which is excluded from the deal, restarted talks in February about Vodafone buying Liberty's assets in the other continental European countries where they overlap.

Vodafone shares were up more than 2% at the start of trading. Vodafone expects the deal to create a "national challenger" in Germany to Deutsche Telekom, now the dominant player in this market.

The talks coincide with a mergers and acquisitions boom in Britain as company bosses take advantage of the availability of cheap debt financing and confidence in the global economy to strike deals. The telco estimates that the cost and capex synergies from the deal will come in at about €535 million per year before integration costs by the fifth year post completion.

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