Liberty Global offers $9 billion for Ziggo

Ziggo NV, a Dutch cable company, will come under the Liberty Global umbrella under an agreement announced Monday. (Peter Dejong, The Associated Press)

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.

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.

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.

Including debt, the deal values Ziggo at $13.7 billion.

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.

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.

Excerpt from:
Liberty Global offers $9 billion for Ziggo