In the past decade, the United States company led by billionaire John Malone had spent over $50bn buying-out rivals in Europe.
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“The acquisition of Cable & Wireless represents a watershed moment for our recently created LiLAC platform”, Fries said. Its annual revenue is US$2.4 billion through its LIME and Flow operations in the Caribbean, BTC in The Bahamas, Mas Movil in Panama, C & W Business and C & W Networks. “And by adding their strength and 1.5 million customers in Puerto Rico and Chile, backed by our strengths in adjoining markets and in leading submarine and terrestrial fibre networks, together we expect to grow our consumer and B2B offers even faster”, said CWC. The transaction is valued at 78.04 pence per CWC share, based on Friday’s closing price.
Liberty Media chairman became a shareholder a year ago when Cable & Wireless bought his cable TV and Internet provider Columbus worldwide.
Liberty Global and Cable & Wireless have complementary operations in the Americas.
The combined business would serve 10 million video, data, voice and mobile subscribers, Liberty Global’s Chief Executive Mike Fries said in a statement.
“Liberty Global offers scale and world class capabilities and will be an outstanding custodian of our business, both for our people and our customers”.
Liberty Global will be paying 86.82p per share in cash for the telecoms company active in Latin America and the Caribbean, a 50 per cent premium on the share price before the takeover bid was made public. As part of that agreement, Malone and Columbus’ two founders were given a 36 percent stake in the combined company. (See Vodafone, Liberty Call Off Asset-Swap Talks and Vodafone Could Buy Virgin Media, Quit Germany, Says Analyst.)Liberty Global has also been linked with a possible move for T-Mobile Netherlands, a Dutch mobile operator that owner Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT) is rumored to be interested in selling.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the employees of CWC for their hard work to position our company for success, culminating in the substantial shareholder value creation announced today”.
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The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016.
