Liberty Global Upholds Telenet Bid

ENGLEWOOD: Liberty Global is continuing to offer 35 euros ($45.35) per share for the remaining shares in Telenet Group Holding, though it has removed the 95 percent minimum acceptance condition. 

On September 19, Liberty Global made a cash offer of 35 euros per share for the outstanding shares of Telenet that it doesn’t own or that are not held by Telenet. The company has confirmed that it is sticking with this offer price, removing the 95 percent minimum acceptance condition of the intended offer. 

The company said it disagrees with the independent expert valuation report prepared by Lazard SPRL. It argues that the updated figures were revised by Telenet’s management after it got the bid and were not discussed with the board of Telenet before its distribution to Lazard. The figures also, according to Liberty Global, have not been supported nor vetted by the Telenet board members that Liberty Global appointed. They were revised upward from the long-term contribution of mobile services to Telenet that Liberty Global believes are "unachievable given the aggressive expectations of market share gains."

"Liberty Global continues to believe that the offer price represents a meaningful premium to its view on the intrinsic value of Telenet and a unique opportunity for the shareholders to monetize their entire investment at a time when the European cable sector is trading at a multi-year high," the company said in a statement.