Vodafone makes $22 bn swoop on Liberty Global
Vodafone has agreed to pay $21.8 billion to buy Liberty Global’s assets in Germany and eastern Europe to take on rivals with a broader range of superfast cable TV, broadband and mobile services.
The world’s second-largest mobile operator struck a deal with US cable pioneer John Malone’s Liberty after years of on-off talks to become a pan-European leader able to challenge the dominance of former monopolies such as Deutsche Telekom .
The biggest German provider swiftly emphasised its previously stated opposition to the deal and Vodafone is likely to face a lengthy regulatory review in Brussels. The companies have pencilled in a mid-2019 completion date for a combination that also includes the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania.
The deal puts Vodafone back on the front foot in its European heartlands, where it is battling to be one of the few players with the scale to provide the full range of entertainment and communications services that consumers want. That trend also explains why Liberty is willing to exit such markets where it does not own the full range of services including mobile.
“This transaction will create the first truly converged pan-European champion of competition,” Vodafone’s Chief Executive Vittorio Colao said. “It is also a transformative combination for Vodafone, we will become the leading next-generation network owner in Europe, serving the largest number of mobile customers and households across the EU.”