Vodafone confirms Liberty Global talks
February 5, 2018
By Colin Mann
Responding to recent press speculation regarding a potential transaction with international TV and broadband company Liberty Global, Vodafone has confirmed that it is in early stage discussions with Liberty Global regarding the potential acquisition of certain overlapping continental European assets owned by Liberty Global.
In a Statement, the global telco said there was no certainty that any transaction would be agreed, nor as to the terms, timing or form of any transaction, and confirmed that it was not in discussion with Liberty Global regarding a combination of both companies.
The pair had previously held inconclusive talks in 2015 regarding a possible exchange of selected assets, and are also 50:50 joint venture partners in VodafoneZiggo Group Holding in the Netherlands, which combines Ziggo’s fibre-rich broadband network with Vodafone’s mobile operation to create a stronger converged competitor in the Dutch market.
Confirmation of the talks follows Liberty Global’s December 22nd agreement to sell its Austrian operations, UPC Austria, to Deutsche Telekom unit T-Mobile Austria. It is understood the talks concern assets in markets where the firms overlap, including Germany, Czech Republic, and Hungary.