Liberty Global operates in the Dutch market via cable firm Ziggo
U.K. telecom group Vodafone confirmed it is in discussions with Liberty Global to analyze the creation of a joint venture in the Netherlands incorporating both companies’ local operating businesses.
Vodafone Group said the discussions are ongoing and do not extend beyond the creation of a JV. “There is no certainty as to when or whether any transaction will be agreed,” Vodafone said in a statement.
Vodafone owns a mobile telecom subsidiary in the Netherlands while Liberty Global owns Dutch cable operator Ziggo. Last year, Vodafone and Liberty Global held negotiations regarding the possible combinations of assets across multiple markets, but failed to reach a deal.
Vodafone ended the third quarter of last year with 5.13 million mobile subscribers in the Netherlands. The telco’s LTE network currently covers 100% of the country’s territory, and is currently expanding coverage of LTE-Advanced across the European country, with a total of 130 municipalities at the end of September 2015. Vodafone initially launched LTE in the Netherlands in August 2012, and currently offers the service using spectrum in the 800 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands.
Ziggo ended Q3 2015 with 4.14 million video subscribers, 3.09 million Internet subscribers and 2.54 million voice subscribers. In the voice segment, Ziggo provides fixed and mobile services.
KPN’s revenues down 9.7% year-over-year in Q4
In related news, Dutch telecom operator KPN generated revenues of 1.75 billion euro in the last quarter of 2015, down from 1.93 billion euro a year ago.
In the consumer segment, revenue totaled 491 million euro, up 2.3% year-on-year. KPN’s enterprise division saw revenue fall to 672 million euro from 752 million euro in 2014. In the mobile segment, KPN saw a net addition of 80,000 subscribers during the last quarter of 2015.
