The ownership of the cable television firm Chorus changed for the second time in a year yesterday as UnitedGlobalCom agreed a deal with Liberty Media.
The US company, which is 53 per cent owned by Liberty Media, will pay $55 million (€41 million) worth of shares and assume €80.1 million debt for control of Chorus.
UnitedGlobalCom said the purchase price for Chorus - which has more than 200,000 customers - represented a multiple of 6.9 times its estimated 2004 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).
The deal for the Irish firm was agreed as part of a larger transaction whereby UnitedGlobalCom paid $143 million to take control of Belgium's largest cable operator, Telenet Group Holding.
Telenet is considerably larger than Chorus and has about 2.5 million video, voice and broadband customers. UnitedGlobalCom said it paid 7.8 times Telenet's 2004 EBITDA on a nine-month annualised basis.
Mr John Malone, the US billionaire media magnate that controls Liberty Media, said the transaction would reinforce UnitedGlobalCom's position as its primary European broadband vehicle.
"The Telenet and Chorus management teams have done an outstanding job growing their respective businesses... These teams now have the opportunity to benefit from UGC's significant scale, operating efficiency and expertise," added Mr Malone.
UnitedGlobalCom operates in 14 countries worldwide and its cable networks reach approximately 15.5 million homes and over 11.1 million subscribers. Its largest operations are based in Europe, where it has 10.1 million customers. A Chorus spokesman said the firm would benefit from the technical expertise provided by a much larger entity.
Earlier this year, Independent News & Media sold its 50 per cent stake in Chorus for a nominal sum when the firm went into examinership.
