John Malone’s Liberty Global owns 95.6% of shares in Dutch cableco Ziggo following its public tender offer and is set to start statutory squeeze-out proceedings to take 100%.
In a statement today, Liberty said 74.9% of Ziggo shares have been tendered…
John Malone’s Liberty Global owns 95.6% of shares in Dutch cableco Ziggo following its public tender offer and is set to start statutory squeeze-out proceedings to take 100%.
In a statement today, Liberty said 74.9% of Ziggo shares have been tendered during the offer period, including in the post-closing acceptance stage, which began on 6 November and ends today.
Shareholders who have not tendered their shares still have the option to do so under the same terms before the 17:40 CET time deadline.
Having attained more than 95% of Ziggo’s shares, Liberty plans to cancel its listing on the Euronext Amsterdam as soon as possible. The pan-European cable giant will then launch squeeze-out proceedings in line with the Dutch Civil Code, also as soon as possible, to acquire all remaining Ziggo shares.
ING has acted as the exchange agent for the public tender offer, while Georgeson has served as the information agent.
Liberty struck a deal to buy Ziggo for €4.9bn (US$6.6bn) earlier this year, planning to merge it with its own local cable unit, UPC Netherlands.
Liberty launched its €35.74 per share offer, representing a 47% premium over Ziggo’s 27 March closing share price, in June and was forced to extend the acceptance period when the European Commission extended its review of the deal.
The Commission cleared the deal in October following a phase II investigation during which Liberty offered remedies to address competition concerns.
The tie-up brings together the Netherlands’ two largest cable operators, although the companies’ footprints do not overlap.
