Liberty, Searchlight acquire Choice Cable TV
December 11, 2014
Liberty Global has announced that, together with investment funds affiliated with Searchlight Capital Partners, it has entered into an agreement to acquire 100 per cent of the parent of Puerto Rico Cable Acquisition Company, Choice Cable TV, the second largest cable and broadband services provider in Puerto Rico.
Choice’s operations will be combined with Liberty Cablevision of Puerto Rico and the combined business, which will be 60 per cent-owned by Liberty Global and 40 per cent-owned by Searchlight, will be the largest cable operator on the island. At August 31st 2014, Choice’s network passed approximately 345,000 homes and served approximately 154,000
revenue generating units.
Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global, stated, “The Choice transaction will build upon our 2012 acquisition of OneLink and will complete cable consolidation on the island of Puerto Rico. Going forward, our market-leading bundles and commitment to network investment and innovation will meaningfully enhance the products and services available to Choice customers. Upon completion, our network will reach over 80 per cent of Puerto Rican homes, and the combined business will serve more than 700,000 RGUs and generate over $380 million of annual revenue. Additionally, this will be the first new asset in our anticipated tracking stock for our businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Eric Zinterhofer, co-founder of Searchlight, said, “We are excited about the opportunity to bring next-generation video capability and enhanced broadband services to Choice’s customers. Furthermore, through the creation of an island-wide cable operator, there are significant opportunities to drive scale benefits and develop incremental residential and commercial business opportunities in Puerto Rico.”
This transaction values Choice at an enterprise value, before transaction costs, of approximately $272.5 million.