British telecom giant Vodafone Group PLC yesterday announced an 18.4 billion euro (US$21.8 billion) deal to buy parts of Liberty Global’s operations that would make it Europe’s largest cable and broadband operator.
The deal for assets of the US group would see Vodafone become the second-biggest player in eurozone powerhouse Germany, while it would also acquire operations in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania, it said in a statement.
Vodafone — already the world’s second-biggest mobile phone operator by subscribers after China Mobile Ltd (中國移動) — is now to become the leading next-generation network owner in Europe with a reach of 110 million homes and businesses, it added.
“This transaction will create the first truly converged pan-European champion of competition,” Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao said.
“We are committed to accelerating and deepening investment in next-generation mobile and fixed networks, building on Vodafone’s track record of ensuring that customers benefit from the choice of a strong and sustainable challenger to dominant incumbent operators,” he added.
Following the deal, London-listed Vodafone would be serving the largest number of mobile customers and households across the EU.
The acquisition of Unitymedia in Germany would create a “national challenger,” Vodafone said, throwing the gauntlet down to dominant player Deutsche Telekom AG.
“The combination of Vodafone and Unitymedia’s nonoverlapping regional operations will establish a strong second national provider of digital infrastructure in the German market,” the British telecom added.
The deal, which remains subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the middle of next year.
Liberty Global said in a separate statement that the deal would boost returns for its shareholders and allow it to prioritize growth elsewhere.
The sale would inject competition into the European sector, helping to drive technology, Liberty Global CEO Matt Fries said.
“Now, more than ever, Europe needs strong competition from scaled national challengers willing and able to invest in next-generation wireless, video and broadband services,” he said.
Colorado-based Liberty Global — which purchased Britain-based Virgin Media Ltd in 2013 for 17.2 billion euros — is controlled by US tycoon John Malone.
After the deal’s completion, Liberty is to maintain a European presence in Belgium, Britain, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland.
Liberty and Vodafone also operate a joint venture, Vodafone Ziggo, in the Netherlands.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last