Liberty open to further German acquisitions
Written by Jörn Krieger
Sunday, 14 February 2010 11:24
liberty_globalUS-based media company Liberty Global, which recently took over German cable operator Unitymedia, is open to further purchases in the German cable market if the regulatory authorities signalled their consent.
Liberty has been rumoured to be interested in acquiring the other two large market players, Kabel Deutschland and Kabel BW.
“If the authorities would encourage us, then we would gladly have a look at this. So far, we have not been receiving such signals,†CEO Mike Fries told German newspaper Die Welt. “In other countries the authorities have realised that competition for telecommunications companies is only possible if you allow the cable operators to grow bigger. Perhaps the same conclusion will be drawn here, perhaps not.â€
But Fries stressed: “We haven’t purchased Unitymedia with the expectation to make further acquisitions. Therefore we wouldn’t be disappointed if that won’t be possible.†He added: “It has been repeatedly speculated that we would have a great master-plan for Germany. This plan doesn’t exist.â€
Fries sees growth potential for Unitymedia in services which go beyond classic cable television such as HDTV, video-on-demand and high-speed internet. “There are at least 8 million households to whom we can sell telecommunications or broadband products. Only 10% of Unitymedia’s customers are currently using more than conventional cable television.â€
Fries was critical about the commercial strategy of pay-TV operator Sky Deutschland. “It is a shame how difficult it is for our customers to access these programmes. If you want to use something of their offer, you always have to sign up for a big package straight away and you need special reception devices for it. They would be better off providing a premium product for the mass market by making their content accessible through all technical platforms.â€
Liberty Global purchased Unitymedia at the end of January for â,¬3.5bn. Since then there has been speculation about the company’s further strategy in Germany, in particular possible additional acquisitions.
© Rapid TV News 2010