Liberty Global to Sell Some European Assets to Vodafone

Liberty Global will sell its German, Hungarian, Romanian and Czech Republic operations to Vodafone for $22.7 billion, Liberty said Wednesday. It expects the deal to close in mid-2019, pending European Commission approval. Liberty said it will continue its cable ISP operations in the U.K., Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland and Slovakia and still have its 50 percent stake in the VodafoneZiggo joint venture in the Netherlands. Liberty said its and Vodafone's cable networks don't overlap. In a note to investors, Citi said the deal is likely to get regulatory approval, though odds are good Germany will impose some conditions.