Vodafone sells 50% stake in VodafoneZiggo for $1.18 billion to partner Liberty Global

LONDON: Vodafone said on Wednesday it would sell its 50% stake in Dutch joint-venture VodafoneZiggo ‌to ⁠its partner ⁠Liberty Global for 1 billion euros ($1.18 billion) in cash and a 10% stake in a new enlarged Benelux telecoms group.

Liberty Global will own 90% of the new Ziggo Group, which will bring together its Belgian operator ⁠Telenet with VodafoneZiggo. ‌It said it planned to spin off Ziggo Group and list it ⁠on Euronext in Amsterdam in 2027.

Shares in ​Vodafone rose 4% after the ​deal was announced on Wednesday.


Vodafone and Liberty Global brought together their mobile and fixed-line networks nearly a decade ago in a stronger competitor to KPN.

Vodafone's Chief Executive Margherita ‌Della Valle said the deal had been agreed at an attractive valuation.

"This transaction ​delivers ​1 billion ⁠euros in cash to Vodafone, and we have the potential for further value creation through our 10% stake ​in Ziggo Group, a business with greater scale," she said on Wednesday.