By Robin van Daalen
AMSTERDAM--Cable company Liberty Global Inc. (LBTYA) raised its
stake in Ziggo NV (ZIGGO.AE), fueling speculation about a possible
takeover of the Dutch cable operator.
Liberty Global, which already owned 12.65% of Ziggo, raised its
stake to 15%, according to a filing with the Dutch stock market
regulator AFM on Tuesday. The announcement comes after Cinven and
Warburg Pincus sold their remaining 17% stake in Ziggo for 25.75
euros ($33.54) a share.
It acquired its initial stake for EUR632.5 million from Barclays
Capital Securities Ltd., which failed to find sufficient interest
from buyers when it tried to place a 20% stake in the company on
behalf of Warburg Pincus LLC and Cinven Ltd.
While Liberty Global is based in Englewood, Colo., it focuses on
markets outside the U.S. and has broadband networks in 13
countries, mainly in Europe. It has been expanding its presence in
Europe lately. In January it raised its stake in Telenet Group
Holding NV to around 58% after a tender offer to take full control
of the Belgian cable operator failed, while a month later it agreed
to acquire U.K. cable-television and Internet provider Virgin Media
Inc. in February for $16 billion.
Liberty Global bought German cable provider Kabel
Baden-Wuerttemberg for roughly $4.5 billion in 2011 and owns KBW's
larger rival, Unitymedia.
Liberty Global already enjoys a sizable presence in the Dutch
market through UPC, a domestic rival of Ziggo. However, Ziggo and
UPC don't compete directly with each other, but serve different
regions within The Netherlands and compete with other internet,
television and telecom service providers like Royal KPN NV
(KPN.AE).
In 2012, Ziggo recorded annual revenue of EUR1.54 billion, up
4.0% from a year earlier. Ziggo was listed in Amsterdam early 2012
after private equity firms merged three local Dutch cable operators
in 2007.
-Lily Vitorovich in London contributed to this article.
Write to Robin van Daalen at robin.vandaalen@dowjones.com and
robert.vandenoever@dowjones.com
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