By Chelsey Dulaney and Archie van Riemsdijk
Liberty Global PLC said Monday that its Telenet Group Holding NV
unit has agreed to buy Belgian mobile-phone operator BASE Company
NV for EUR1.3 billion ($1.4 billion), in its latest consolidation
move in Europe.
BASE is the third-largest mobile network operator in Belgium
with 3.3 million mobile subscribers and adjusted revenue of EUR690
million last year. Its current owner is Dutch telecommunications
company Royal KPN NV.
The deal is expected to make Telenet's mobile business more
competitive and boost its presence in Belgium, where Liberty Global
has eyed growth.
Spun off from Liberty Media Corp., media mogul John Malone's
Liberty Global is the largest international cable company, with
operations in 14 countries. The London company has been shifting
focus to Europe, with a series of large acquisitions, including
U.K.'s Virgin Media Inc. and Dutch cable operator Ziggo NV, seeking
to profit from rising demand for bundles of television, broadband
and telephone and mobile services.
Telenet expects to spend about EUR240 million on integrating the
business and to upgrade BASE's capacity and network.
Once the deal is completed, Belgium's mobile phone market will
be divided across three large operators: Telenet and Mobistar SA,
with a market share of around 30% each, and incumbent Belgacom SA,
with a market share of around 40%.
For KPN, the deal marks the latest step in its pull back from
foreign markets after the sale last year of its German business
E-Plus to Telefónica Deutschland for EUR8.6 billion.
KPN said the sale of BASE will enable it to focus on its
operations in the Netherlands and that the proceeds, which were
higher than analysts had predicted, will be used to "create maximum
value for shareholders."
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com and Archie
van Riemsdijk at archie.vanriemsdijk@wsj.com
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