Liberté, sans égalité

2 February 2018 By Liam Proud Follow @liamwardproud

The British mobile operator is in talks about buying overlapping European assets from John Malone’s cable group. Previous attempts have stalled. Excluding the two sides’ UK operations this time reduces possible synergies, but also lowers regulatory and financial barriers.

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Vodafone on Feb. 2 said it was in discussions with cable group Liberty Global about an acquisition of overlapping European assets.

The UK-based telecom operator said it was not considering a combination of the two companies, and that there was no certainty that any transaction will be agreed.

The announcement followed a report in the Financial Times that the two groups are considering an asset swap involving their operations in Britain, Germany and other parts of Europe.

Vodafone and Liberty Global held talks in 2015 over an asset swap that could preempt a full merger, but negotiations broke down. The two groups merged their Dutch operations in 2016.

Vodafone shares rose by 2.4 percent to 219.5 pence by 1625 GMT on Feb. 2. Liberty Global’s Nasdaq-listed shares were up 5.3 percent to $39.15.

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