Owner of Dutch cable operator UPC Netherlands, Liberty Global has increased its stake in Dutch cable network operator Ziggo from 18.2 percent to 28.5 percent, according to a filing at the SEC. Ziggo's Supervisory Board and the Board of Management have noted the increase and in a statement said that they will continue to act in the best interests of stakeholders in assessing steps made by Liberty Global while continuing to focus on executing Ziggo's strategy. The stake increase consists of 17.5 million Ziggo shares, the acquisition of which was financed entirely through a loan linked to the hedging transaction secured by Ziggo shares.
Liberty Global acquired its first Ziggo shares, a stake of 12.65 percent, in March this year as a strategic and opportunistic investment when Barclays as underwriter of the IPO by Ziggo’s original investors Cinven and Warburg Pincus was left with Ziggo shares. The stake was increased in two steps via 15 percent to 18.2 percent. During its Q1 2013 conference call, Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries said that the company had paid a total of EUR 926 million for the shares, adding that the investment is strategic and there is no plan to acquire all of Ziggo.
