John Malone’s Liberty Global has continued its recent shopping spree with today’s news that it has bought a 12.65 stake in Dutch cable operator Ziggo for about $808.3 million.
Liberty Global, which announced last month it was buying Virgin Media in a cash and stock deal valued at $23.3 billion, bought 25.3 million Ziggo shares from Barclays Capital Securities Limited.
Liberty Global said it considered the stake in Ziggo, which is the largest cable operator in the Netherlands, a good strategic investment since it already has sizeable market presence though its UPC Netherlands subsidiary.
Liberty Global will fund the acquisition of Ziggo shares with a non-recourse margin loan and existing liquidity. Since the deal doesn’t result in Liberty Global obtaining a controlling interest in Ziggo, no regulatory approvals were required.
Ziggo said it would continue to focus on executing its strategy “in the best interests of its stakeholders.”
Earlier this month, Malone’s holding company, Liberty Media, bought a 27.3 percent stake in Charter Communications for about $2.62 billion.
