Liberty Global’s UPC Poland has agreed to acquire the cable operations of Multimedia Polska (Multimedia), the third-largest cable operator in Poland, in an all cash transaction valued at PLN 3.0 billion (USD 760 million). The final purchase price will be subject to potential downward adjustments for the operational and financial performance of Multimedia before closing. Liberty Global Mike Fries said the deal will significantly increase the group’s scale in Poland, where it is already the largest cable operator. At completion, Liberty Global will begin upgrading the Multimedia network in order to provide faster broadband speeds and the Horizon TV video service.
The combined operations of UPC Poland Multimedia will have over 4 million passed homes and businesses. At end June, UPC Poland passed 3.1 million homes, or around 20 percent of total households in Poland, serving 1.4 million unique customers who subscribed to 2.9 million cable subscription services. At the end of the second quarter, Multimedia passed 1.6 million homes mainly through its hybrid fiber-coaxial cable network, serving 832,000 unique customers who subscribed to 1.4 million subscription services consisting of 643,000 video, 491,000 broadband and 241,000 telephony RGUs. In addition, Multimedia had 54,000 mobile subscribers at end June.
The acquisition will be financed through a combination of incremental debt borrowings and cash on hand. It will excludes Multimedia’s existing insurance, gas and energy operations, which will be kept by the shareholders of Multimedia. The deal is subject to the usual closing conditions, including regulatory approval, and is expected to close within the next twelve months.
Credit Suisse acted as financial advisor to Liberty Global.
