Liberty Global said Monday it has agreed to purchase the remaining stake it does not already own in Chilean cable operator VTR, for about $422 million iln Liberty Global stock.
Liberty Global purchased these shares in Chile’s largest cable operator from a subsidiary of Corp Group Holding Inversiones Limitada (“Corp Group”) in exchange for 10.1million Liberty Global Class C ordinary shares (“LBTYK”).
The share consideration had a market value of approximately $422 million, based on Liberty Global’s closing price of $41.80 per share on March 13.
“Based on the solid foundation we have developed with Corp Group over the last few years, VTR will now enter its next phase of growth in the dynamic Chilean market. We would like to thank Alvaro Saieh Bendeck, his son Jorge Andres Saieh and the Saieh family for their ongoing support and the strong relationship and success we have built together,” Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries said in a statement.
In January, Liberty Global said it was considering a spin-off of its Latin American operations, which include VTR and a 60% stake in Liberty Cablevision of Puerto Rico. The Denver-based international MSO has said it wanted to focus more on its European operations, where the bulk of its revenue and subscribers reside. About 10% of LGI’s revenue and 6% of its customers are in Latin America.
The news comes on the hels of Vodafone’s announcement that it has acquired Spanish cable and telecommunications giant Ono, in a deal valued at about $10.1 billion. Liberty Global had been an early bidder for Ono.
