Liberty Global has made a bid to acquire the rest of the shares in Belgian cable operator Telenet. Liberty is offering EUR 35 per share, a 14 percent premium on Telenet's average price the month before the bid was announced; the total bid is worth EUR 1.96 billion.
Liberty said it was time for Telenet to become part of the group's pan-European network, especially given the competitive and regulatory outlook in Belgium. Liberty acquired a stake in Telenet in 2007 and now holds 50.4 percent. The new offer is conditional on acquiring 95 percent of the shares, at which point the company can force a delisting of the company.
Telenet's board said it will study the offer. At the same it plans to go ahead with its share buyback announced in August, to repurchase up to 18.2 percent of its outstanding stock. The company also announced an increase in its outlook for 2012.
