Jörn Krieger ©RapidTVNews | 12-08-2011


The German cartel office Bundeskartellamt will closely examine the planned takeover of Germany’s third-largest cable operator Kabel BW by US media company Liberty Global.

The anti-trust authority has launched an in-depth probe, said a spokesman in Bonn. The cartel office wants to take a thorough look at the affected markets, he added. The authority will have to reach a decision by 11 November 2011. Industry observers consider it to be uncertain whether the cartel office will approve the deal as it has taken a critical view on mergers in the cable industry in the past.

In March 2011, Liberty Global announced it was to purchase Kabel BW from Swedish financial investor EQT for €3.16 billion. In conjunction with Unitymedia, which it acquired in November 2009, the US company wants to create a strong counterweight to market leader Kabel Deutschland.

With Unitymedia and Kabel BW, Liberty Global would have around 7 million customers while Kabel Deutschland currently has almost 9 million customers.