US-based cableco Liberty Global Inc (LGI) is confident shareholders in Belgian takeover target Telenet will accept its intended €35 (US$45) per share takeover offer and that the deal can be concluded by the end of the year.
Speaking on a conference…
US-based cableco Liberty Global Inc (LGI) is confident shareholders in Belgian takeover target Telenet will accept its intended €35 (US$45) per share takeover offer and that the deal can be concluded by the end of the year.
Speaking on a conference call to investors today, LGI president and CEO Michael Fries described the company’s proposed acquisition of the almost 50% of Telenet shares it does not already know as “a natural and normal step”.
He said LGI, which has been a shareholder in Telenet since 2004, believes the planned takeover is in line with Telenet shareholders’ wishes, describing the intended offer price as “attractive” whatever metric you use.
Last week, LGI announced plans to proceed with its offer to buy out shares in the Belgian cableco, despite a fairness opinion prepared for Telenet’s board of directors valuing the company’s shares at €37 to €42 each.
Asked today to comment on Telenet’s decision to raise its guidance several times, Fries said he would prefer to let LGI’s prospectus – a draft version of which has been filed with regulators – to speak for itself.
Earlier in the call, he said the company expects to officially launch its tender offer shortly and “look[s] forward to completing in December”.
LGI reported revenues of US$2.52bn for the third quarter, representing rebased growth of 6%. Operating cash flow stood at US$1.22bn.
Fries described the quarter as its best in two years, driven by a record number of new broadband internet and telephony subscribers, and predicted Q4 will be better yet.
“We finished the third quarter with cash and equivalents in excess of US$3bn and total liquidity of more than $5bn,” he said.
“We have the requisite capital to not only fund the Telenet tender offer, but also complete our US$1bn stock buyback target for 2012.”
