EC approves Ziggo acquisition by Liberty Global

Nieuws Algemeen Nederland 10 OCT 2014
EC approves Ziggo acquisition by Liberty Global

The European Commission has approved the proposed acquisition of Ziggo by Liberty Global, pending a few conditions. To address these conditions,, Liberty Global offered to sell Film1, its premium Pay TV film channel. Liberty Global also committed to terminate clauses in channel carriage agreements that limit broadcasters' ability to offer their channels and content over the internet, and not to include such clauses in future channel carriage agreements for eight years. These commitments remove the Commission's concerns.

The Commission said it was concerned that the original plans for the merger would have hindered competition by removing two close competitors and important competitive forces in the Dutch market for the wholesale of premium Pay TV film channels, and by increasing Liberty Global's buyer power vis-a-vis TV channel broadcasters. This would have allowed Liberty Global to hinder innovation in the delivery of OTT services.

The merger brings together the first and the second largest cable TV networks in The Netherlands. Both companies operate in different geographic areas within the country and as such, do not compete for the same customers. The merger will not change this.

In its original form, the merger would have combined the only two linear Premium Pay TV film channels in The Netherlands, namely Film1 and HBO Nederland. This would have allowed Liberty Global to increase the wholesale price of these channels for competing retail Pay TV operators such as KPN. Liberty Global would also have been in a position to refuse to supply, in particular, Film1 to its retail rivals, limiting the breadth of the content that those rivals could offer to consumers.

Outgoing EC competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia said the commitments offered by Liberty Global ensure that the acquisition of Ziggo will not be detrimental to Dutch consumers, who will continue to enjoy the benefits of innovative services and choice for watching audio visual content.

The acquisition must now move towards ensuring that Liberty Global gets at least 80 percent of outstanding shares, excluding shares owned by Ziggo itself. The figure had originally been set at 95 percent. Liberty Global and Ziggo extended the acceptance period on 11 September to 4 November in the late afternoon. Former KPN chief Baptiest Coopmans will head the new Ziggo.

Categories:

Algemeen

Companies:

UPC,  Ziggo,  Liberty Global,  Europese Commissie

Countries:

Nederland

Tags:

Regulations, Wireline, Internet Access, M&A buyouts & divestments

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