Breakingviews | Liberty/Unitymedia

Considered view

13 Nov 2009 11:38

Unity of purpose

Context News

Liberty Global, the US media firm part-owned by media tycoon John Malone, agreed to buy German cable operator Unitymedia for E2bn plus E1.5bn of debt.

The vendors, private-equity firms BC Partners and Apollo Capital Partners, had previously planned to float the company, according to people familiar with the situation.

BC and Apollo spent E1.5bn on acquiring Unitymedia, formerly part of Deutsche Telekom’s cable network, in 2003. It comprises assets from regional operators Iesy, Ish and Tele Columbus. Unitymedia generated E395m of ebitda in 2008, and was forecast to hit E420m in 2009.

Apollo and BC Partners ditched plans to float German cable business Unitymedia when trade buyer Liberty Global surfaced with an opportunistic bid. The private equity firms get a clean exit and Liberty buys growth without paying a fat premium. It's classic downturn dealmaking.

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