Liberty Global CEO: Always On Lookout For Acquisitions

International cable operator Liberty Global Inc. (LBTYA, LBTYB) is looking for acquisitions in a market that is desperate for consolidation and it is shifting its strategy to focus on Europe, Chief Executive Mike Fries said Wednesday.

"We're always opportunistic with acquisitions, the market is still very fragmented," Fries said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires. He said that while only the group's larger deals attract attention, it is constantly making small acquisitions to pick up areas such as towns or cities to expand its scope. In addition, "the EU market, with 7,000 cable operators, is screaming for consolidation," Fries said.

Fries added that the vast majority of the group's revenue comes from Europe, mainly Germany--where it owns cable network Unitymedia--Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Liberty Global is waiting for the German regulator to review its proposed acquisition of regional German cable operator Kabel Baden-Wuerttemberg, which would unite the second- and third-largest regional cable TV operators in the country.

"We're hopeful of regulatory approval," he said, noting that the combined German revenue of the companies would be around EUR1.5 billion. "Understandably, Deutsche Telekom (DTEGY, DTE.XE) has a very strong opinion on cable consolidation in Germany," he added.

Fries called for regulation of the sector in Europe to be focused on the pan-EU level. He is in Brussels to join around 40 telecoms, online content and media CEOs for a round table with EU digital agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes, discussing how to achieve the European Commission's target of Internet coverage.

The directive requires coverage of 30 Mbps or above for all Europeans by 2020, with half of European households subscribing to connections of 100 Mbps or higher. Around 80% of Liberty Global's cable customers have an access speed of 100 Mbps, Fries said.

It is a "natural move" for Liberty Global to sell its majority stake in Australian pay television company Austar United Communications Ltd. (AUN.AU) to Foxtel in a deal that values Austar at A$2.5 billion, Fries said.

"We were in that market for 15 years, it's not like we came in and out overnight. Now there's a growing platform in Europe, private equity is coming out, and there's great access to capital," he said.

-By Frances Robinson, Dow Jones Newswires; +32 2 741 1486; frances.robinson@dowjones.com

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