Liberty Global ups Ziggo stake to 28.5%

Liberty Global has upped its stake in the Netherlands’ largest cable operator Ziggo to 28.5% – more than doubling the 12.65% holding it originally bought back in March.

In a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Liberty said that it had acquired 17.5 million additional shares in Ziggo, which it financed through a loan, increasing its total ownership to 28.5% based on the number of outstanding shares of Ziggo stock as of June 30, 2013.

Ziggo confirmed Liberty’s stake increase in a statement and said: “The supervisory board and the board of management will continue to act in the best interests of its stakeholders in assessing steps made by Liberty Global while continuing to focus on executing Ziggo’s strategy.

Liberty paid roughly €632.5 million (US$839 million) for a 12.65% stake in Ziggo back in March, when the firm acquired 25.3 million Ziggo shares from Barclays Capital Securities for €25 per share.

Commenting at the time, Liberty said the acquisition marked an “attractive opportunity” to make a strategic investment in a market where it already has a strong presence through its UPC Netherlands subsidiary.

In April, Liberty subsequently raised its holding to 15% after private equity groups Cinven and Warburg Pincus sold their remaining shares in the firm and exited ownership of Ziggo.