John Malone, chairman of Liberty Global, would be interested in merging the company’s German assets with rival Kabel Deutschland (KDG), a German business daily reported.
In a portrait of the Liberty chairman, the Financial Times Deutschland wrote that…
John Malone, chairman of Liberty Global, would be interested in merging the company’s German assets with rival Kabel Deutschland (KDG), a German business daily reported.
In a portrait of the Liberty chairman, the Financial Times Deutschland wrote that Malone would be interested in continuing his acquisition spree in Germany following the €3.5bn takeover of Unitymedia in 2009 and the subsequent merger with Kabel BW in 2011.
“If regulators would allow us to proceed, it would make all the sense in the world,” the paper quoted Malone as saying about a hypothetical merger of Unitymedia Kabel BW with KDG. Liberty Global would have the necessary funds to finance such a transaction.
However, the Liberty chairman is also aware of the fact that the German Federal Cartel Office would block such a mega merger of Germany’s two largest cablecos at this point, the article stated. He did not rule out that the regulator would take a more favourable view at one point in the future.
Considers mobile networks
If consolidation was not an option, KDG and Unitymedia could instead consider the creation of joint ventures, Malone suggested. This could for instance strengthen the position of the cablecos in TV broadcasting rights tenders. Currently it would often not make sense to bid against pay tv provider Sky, which could afford to pay a higher price given its national presence. KDG and Unitymedia however only have regional presence in different parts of Germany.
Malone also said Liberty Global would need to consider its options with regards to mobile networks. “Do we have to build our own network, or will partnerships be sufficient?” he told FTD.
