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Date: 19 Sep 2019

Hilton London Tower Bridge , London</s>Vodafone is set to complete the €18 billion purchase of a string of strategic German and Eastern European assets from Liberty Global. The deal will see Vodafone take possession of Liberty Global's German cabling firm Unitymedia and three smaller business units in THe Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. “This transaction will create the first truly converged pan-European champion of competition…

Vodafone is set to complete the €18 billion purchase of a string of strategic German and Eastern European assets from Liberty Global.

The deal will see Vodafone take possession of Liberty Global's German cabling firm Unitymedia and three smaller business units in THe Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania.

“This transaction will create the first truly converged pan-European champion of competition. It represents a step change in Europe’s transition to a Gigabit Society and a transformative combination for Vodafone that will generate significant value for shareholders. We are committed to accelerating and deepening investment in next generation mobile and fixed networks, building on Vodafone’s track record of ensuring that customers benefit from the choice of a strong and sustainable challenger to dominant incumbent operators. Vodafone will become Europe’s leading next generation network owner, serving the largest number of mobile customers and households across the EU,” said Vodafone Group chief executive Vittorio Colao.

Analysts believe that the move will help Vodafone rollout 4G and 5G services in Eastern Europe, while simultaneously providing it with a platform to challenge Europe's dominant player, Deutsche Telekom.

"For Vodafone, the acquisition of selected Liberty Global assets is a strategically sound approach to strengthen its position. Convergence is one of Vodafone's strategic pillars, with nearly 30 percent of European service revenue now coming from its fixed-line business. It is consistent with previous acquisitions (Kabel Deutschland in Germany and Ono in Spain).

"Vodafone now becomes a powerful rival to Deutsche Telekom in bundled services. However, we strongly believe that regulators will block or restrict the deal. Vodafone and Liberty Global have a relatively solid presence in the fixed-line and TV markets, so any move would cut the number of companies in both segments," said Paolo Pescatore, VP, Multiplay and Media at CCS Insight.

As recently as last month, Liberty Global had explored the possibility of expanding its Eastern European operations, making an €876 million bid to acquire Polish media firm, Multimedia Polska. However, Liberty shelved the deal when it was unable to agree terms with the Polish media giant.

The sale of its Eastern European assets to Vodafone in all likelihood signals the end of Liberty Globals interest in eastward expansion and follows a broader trend of the company divesting its non-core assets.

" For Liberty Global this is a further sign of disposing of non-core assets, specifically in markets where it lacks the resources to compete or needs to invest heavily to match rivals. Austria is a prime example of this. We expect Liberty to use these funds to strengthen its position in other markets such as the UK," added Pescatore.

The deal has been gathering momentum over the past 4-6 weeks but will be subject to standard regulatory approval from the European Commission. Upon completion, the deal will represent the biggest acquisition in Europe's telecoms market for at least five years.</s>Vodafone Group has agreed to acquire German and Eastern European assets from Liberty Global in a €18.4 billion (£16bn) announced today (May 9).

The firm will buy Liberty Global subsidiary Unitymedia, which is the second largest cable network in Germany, and in the Czech Republic. It also acquired central and eastern European brand UPC in Hungary and Romania.

The deal expands Vodafone’s cable reach to challenge German market leader, Deutsche Telekom in supplying more scale to Internet packages, fixed line, mobile and TV services. Vodafone and Liberty Global have been in discussion for years, and have penned a joint venture in The Netherlands two years ago.

Vodafone will pay Liberty Global €10.8bn (£9.4bn) in cash and take €7.6bn (£6.6bn) in debt.

In response to the deal, Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges said the deal will distort competition, according to Reuters.

“I personally will fight for fair competition for our customers, to ensure that we do not face a disadvantage”, he said.

Vodafone chief executive officer Vittorio Colao said: “This transaction will create the first truly converged pan-European champion of competition.”

CCS Insight multiplay and media vice president Paolo Pescatore believes the move deal will be blocked by regulators. He said: “Vodafone now becomes a powerful rival to Deutsche Telekom in bundled services. However, we strongly believe that regulators will block or restrict the deal. Vodafone and Liberty Global have a relatively solid presence in the fixed-line and TV markets, so any move would cut the number of companies in both segments.

“This is not a game changing move. Both companies are struggling to grow in a rapidly converging world. If anything, it reinforces the importance of owning both fixed and mobile networks on the road towards 5G. The joint venture in the Netherlands’ has laid out the blueprint for both companies to come closer together”.</s>Vodafone has snapped up US cable giant Liberty Global's operations in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania in a £16.1billion deal.

The deal, which faces a regulatory approval process, means Vodafone will be able to expand its broadband, mobile and cable television services across Europe.

Looking ahead, FTSE 100 listed Vodafone said the deal will help it reach 110million homes and businesses.

Liberty Global owns Virgin Media, which it plans to retain, as well as its operation in Ireland.

Vodafone's share price is up 1.35 per cent or 2.80p to 210.35p.

The deal will comprise of £9.5billion paid to Liberty Global and £6.7billion of existing Liberty Global debt.

Cost and capital expenditure synergies are expected to total around £469million per year, before integration costs, by the fifth year. Vodafone expects to close the deal by the middle of next year.

Vittorio Colao, Vodafone's chief executive, said: 'This transaction will create the first truly converged pan-European champion of competition.'

He added: 'We are committed to accelerating and deepening investment in next generation mobile and fixed networks, building on Vodafone's track record of ensuring that customers benefit from the choice of a strong and sustainable challenger to dominant incumbent operators.

'Vodafone will become Europe's leading next generation network owner, serving the largest number of mobile customers and households across the EU.'

Vodafone said it 'looks forward to bringing together the leading talent in the sector in all four countries.'

Management and employees from Liberty Global 'will have the opportunity to play an integral role within the combined company in each country', Vodafone said.

Vodafone's deal with Liberty Global strengthens the former's hand as it vies for dominance with telecoms powerhouse Deutsche Telekom. Both companies are trying to consolidate telecoms networks that span the continent.

Vodafone has already struck cable deals in Britain, Germany and Spain, while Deutsche Telekom, which is 32 per cent owned by the German state, is the largest shareholder of BT and controls assets in several European countries, stretching from the Netherlands to Greece.

Liberty Global, which is controlled by John Malone, the so-called 'cable cowboy', is reportedly keen to quit the market because it believes it has become fragmented.

Analysts have suggested Vodafone's chance of success depends on whether competition officials in Germany or the EU rule on the deal, with regulators in Brussels thought to be more likely to approve it.</s>LONDON — Telecom giant Vodafone has agreed to buy Liberty Global’s operations in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania in a deal valued at 18.4 billion euros ($21.8 billion) as the industry moves toward “next-generation” technology carrying voice, data and video over a single network.

Vodafone says the transaction will help it become “the leading next-generation network owner in Europe,” with a total reach of 110 million homes and businesses.

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

The deal includes a 10.8 billion-euro cash payment to Liberty Global and 7.6 million euros of the company’s debt. Vodafone will acquire Unitymedia in Germany, as well as UPC Czech, UPC Hungary and UPC Romania.</s>LONDON (Reuters) - Vodafone Group has agreed to a nearly $23 billion deal to buy operations in four European countries from John Malone’s Liberty Global, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday, citing Liberty CEO Mike Fries.

The world’s second biggest mobile operator said in February it was in talks about buying Liberty’s assets in the continental European countries where they overlap: Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania.</s>British telecommunications giant Vodafone agreed Wednesday to buy a raft of US cable giant Liberty Global’s European activities for 18.4 billion euros ($21.9 billion), which it said would catapult it into being the largest operator in the EU.

The deal, worth the equivalent of £16.1 billion, will see Vodafone acquire Liberty’s operations in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Romania, the London-listed firm said in a statement.

The blockbuster deal “accelerates Vodafone’s converged communications strategy through in-market consolidation”, it added.

Vodafone will become the leading next generation network owner in Europe, with a total reach of 110 million homes and businesses.

“This transaction will create the first truly converged pan-European champion of competition,” said Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao.

“We are committed to accelerating and deepening investment in next generation mobile and fixed networks, building on Vodafone’s track record of ensuring that customers benefit from the choice of a strong and sustainable challenger to dominant incumbent operators.

Following the deal Vodafone will be serving the largest number of mobile customers and households across the EU, it said.

It added that the acquisition of Unitymedia in Germany would create a “national challenger”, throwing the gauntlet down to dominant player Deutsche Telekom.

“The combination of Vodafone and Unitymedia’s non-overlapping regional operations will establish a strong second national provider of digital infrastructure in the German market, building on Vodafone’s long track record in bringing sustainable and effective choice and competition to the German consumer and enterprise markets,” it said.

The deal, which remains subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to complete in mid-2019.</s>Vodafone has agreed a €18.4 billion deal to acquire Liberty Global’s cable networks in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania in a move that will accelerate its converged network vision and make it Europe’s largest ‘next generation network’ (NGN) provider.

Amid intense competition in the mobile sector, and a belief that fixed-mobile convergence is the future, Vodafone has invested significantly in fixed infrastructure, building or acquiring networks in Spain, Italy, Germany and Portugal, while it has wholesale agreements in other markets, including the UK.

Talks with Liberty Global have been ongoing for the best part of three years, with talks first held in 2015 about a possible exchange of assets. Those ended without agreement but in 2016, the two firms agreed to merge their mobile and cable operators in the Netherlands in a bid to take on incumbent KPN.
• The best Vodafone broadband deals in May 2018

This latest deal will see the company’s fibre footprint increase to 110 million across the continent, including 54 million on its own infrastructure.

“This transaction will create the first truly converged pan-European champion of competition,” declared Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao in a call to journalists this morning. “We have delivered synergies in Spain, and the Netherlands, so we’re confident about [Germany and Central & Eastern Europe].”

The transaction is expected to close in 2019 subject to regulatory approval, but Vodafone is confident there will be no obstacles to overcome.

Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges has been a critic of the proposed combination of Unitymedia and Vodafone in his country, arguing it will distort competition. Unitymedia itself was formed through the purchase of several formerly independent regional operators created when Deutsche Telekom was forced to spin off its cable assets in the early 1990s.

Hoettges has today reiterated this belief, but Colao dismissed his counterpart’s concerns as self-serving, adding that he did not expect any potential resistance from EU regulators because Vodafone and Unitymedia’s cable assets did not overlap. Therefore, there would be no reduction in cable competition and customers could still opt to take IPTV or satellite television services instead.

“I was amused this morning by Tim’s comments,” he said. “Our mission has always been to protect competition and to push for competition and it seems that Tim Hoettges mission is to build [Deutsche Telekom’s] dominance.

“But bad news for him, there will be a second [major] German player.”

In the UK, Vodafone uses a combination of the Cable and Wireless network it acquired in 2012 and a wholesale agreement with Openreach to deliver its broadband services. However it will become the anchor tenant of CityFibre’s national fibre network, which is set to reach one million premises by 2021 and could eventually target five million.

Colao said that it was pleased with its fixed progress in the UK and would reveal more next week, adding that this latest deal would not mean it would neglect the British market. While he refused to categorically rule out a move for Liberty Global’s Virgin Media in the UK, he said the possibility has never been on the table.

“In the UK we are just starting convergence … and we are working mostly on wholesale and will work CityFibre as soon as the fibre is available,” he explained. ““It’s not on our agenda now. You can never say never in life … but I wouldn’t go any further than that.”
• Check out the best broadband deals for May 2018</s>Vodafone has agreed to buy Liberty Global's operations in four European countries in a deal worth €18.4bn (£16.1bn).

The deal sees the UK-based telecoms giant take control of cable operators in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania.

Vodafone said the "transformative" purchase, which adds to existing operations in Germany and Spain, would make it the leading "next generation network" in Europe with 54 million cable and fibre homes on its network.

Including partnerships and wholesale arrangements, the deal will give Vodafone a reach of 110 million homes and businesses, it said.

The widely-anticipated deal shifts the balance of mobile operator Vodafone's revenues and earnings further towards fixed line and TV services and also means that Europe will in future represent more than three quarters of earnings.

Vodafone said the purchase in Germany of the Unitymedia business would create a national challenger to the dominant fixed line operator Deutsche Telekom, making it large enough to help the government achieve its ambitions to extend high-speed broadband connections to millions more households.

Chief executive Vittorio Colao said: "This transaction will create the first truly converged pan-European champion of competition.

"It represents a step change in Europe's transition to a gigabit society and a transformative combination for Vodafone that will generate significant value for shareholders.

"We are committed to accelerating and deepening investment in next generation mobile and fixed networks, building on Vodafone's track record of ensuring that customers benefit from the choice of a strong and sustainable challenger to dominant incumbent operators."

Vodafone expects the deal, which still faces regulatory approval, to complete around mid-2019.</s>Vodafone has agreed to acquire Liberty Global's operations in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania for an enterprise value of 18.4bn, the telco giant announced on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 company said the deal would accelerate its converged communications strategy through in-market consolidation in Vodafone's largest market, Germany, and in its Central and Eastern European markets of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. Vodafone would become the "leading next generation network" ...
Vodafone acquires Liberty Global's European operations, including German cable operator Unitymedia, for €18.4 billion.