Tech
Liberty sells remaining shares in Telewest
Published Friday, Sep 24 2004, 15:14 BST | By James Welsh
John Malone's Liberty Media has sold its remaining shares in Britain's second largest cable operator, Telewest.
The financial press speculated during the wave of cable consolidation in the 1990s that Malone would eventually seek to dominate the UK cable market after Liberty Media began taking significant stakes in European cable operators.
It then became clear that Liberty would pull out of the UK market when Malone didn't take a significant role in Telewest's recent debt-for-equity restructuring. By not taking a bondholding in the company, Liberty was left - along with all other Telewest shareholders - to share in 1.5% of the restructured Telewest's overall value. Bondholders were handed the remainder of the company in return for clearing most of its debt.
In the end, Liberty made £119m from the sale of its entire remaining stake in the company.
The financial press speculated during the wave of cable consolidation in the 1990s that Malone would eventually seek to dominate the UK cable market after Liberty Media began taking significant stakes in European cable operators.
It then became clear that Liberty would pull out of the UK market when Malone didn't take a significant role in Telewest's recent debt-for-equity restructuring. By not taking a bondholding in the company, Liberty was left - along with all other Telewest shareholders - to share in 1.5% of the restructured Telewest's overall value. Bondholders were handed the remainder of the company in return for clearing most of its debt.
In the end, Liberty made £119m from the sale of its entire remaining stake in the company.
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