Media company Liberty Global has announced a £3.5bn (€4.9bn/$5.3bn) deal to acquire Cable & Wireless Communications, the London-listed Caribbean telecommunications operator.
The takeover has been recommended by the board of the telco, with the deal expected to close in the second quarter of 2016. The transaction will include cash and shares.
Cable & Wireless is one of the leading sports broadcasters in the Caribbean and has been particularly active in the sports-rights market this year. In April, the company acquired rights for the 2016 summer Olympic Games across the Caribbean, and last month, the telco snapped up exclusive live rights for football’s Fifa World Cup qualifiers in the region and the English Premier League.
Mike Fries, chief executive of Liberty Global, said the deal would “add significant scale and management depth to our fast-growing operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, while creating a new regional consumer and B2B powerhouse.”
He added: “Upon completion, the combined business will serve 10m video, data, voice and mobile subscribers, with leading positions across multiple markets.”