Liberty Media International, Inc. and UnitedGlobalCom, Inc. Agree to Combine
18 Gennaio 2005 - 7:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Liberty Media International, Inc. and UnitedGlobalCom, Inc. Agree
to Combine Important Notice: Liberty Media International, Inc.
(LMI) Chairman, President and CEO, John C. Malone, and
UnitedGlobalCom, Inc. (UGC) President and CEO, Michael T. Fries,
will discuss the announced combination in a conference call which
will begin at 12:00 p.m. (ET) January 18, 2005. The call can be
accessed by dialing (913) 981-5522 or (800) 289-0528 at least 10
minutes prior to the start time. Replays of the conference call can
be accessed from 3:00 p.m. (ET) on January 18, 2005 through 5:00
p.m. (ET) January 25, 2005, by dialing (719) 457-0820 or (888)
203-1112 plus the pass code 8474744#. The call will also be
broadcast live across the Internet. To access the web cast go to
either http://www.libertymediainternational.com/ir/ or
http://www.unitedglobal.com/irFmain.html. Links to this press
release will also be available on the LMI and UGC web sites.
ENGLEWOOD, Col., Jan. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Liberty Media
International, Inc. (LMI) (NASDAQ:LBTYANASDAQ:LBTYB) and
UnitedGlobalCom, Inc. (UGC) (NASDAQ:UCOMA) announced today that the
two companies have reached an agreement to combine the businesses
under a single entity to be named Liberty Global, Inc. Liberty
Global will be one of the largest owners and operators of broadband
communications systems outside the United States with ownership
interests in companies serving more than 14 million RGUs in 17
countries. The merger will be accomplished as a result of a
business combination whereby each of LMI and UGC will become
wholly-owned subsidiaries of a new holding company, Liberty Global,
Inc. Each issued and outstanding share of LMI common stock will be
converted into one share of the same series of common stock of
Liberty Global. Each issued and outstanding share of UGC common
stock, other than shares owned by LMI or its subsidiaries or by
UGC, will be exchanged into 0.2155 of a share of Series A common
stock of Liberty Global. A cash election alternative of $9.58 per
UGC share will be available to the UGC shareholders subject to
proration so that the amount of cash paid does not exceed 20% of
the total consideration received by the unaffiliated UGC
shareholders. Liberty Global expects to have a 10-member board of
directors with five directors selected from each of the existing
boards of directors of LMI and UGC. Dr. John C. Malone will be the
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Mr. Michael T. Fries will
assume the post of President and Chief Executive Officer. Given the
substantial liquidity and free cash flow profile of the combined
company, the parties expect that Liberty Global's board of
directors will authorize a substantial stock repurchase program
following the combination. Any share repurchases would occur from
time to time in the open market or in privately negotiated
transactions, subject to market conditions. John Malone, LMI's
Chairman, President and CEO, stated, "As demonstrated by the new
name of our company, I view this transaction as a merger of equals
creating one of the largest broadband services companies outside
the United States." Dr. Malone went on to say, "In a very short
period of time, we have disposed of non-strategic businesses and
put in place a simplified structure from which our operating
businesses can focus on their respective markets including Europe,
Japan and Chile. From this structure, I am confident that Mike
Fries and the rest of the management team can create value for our
shareholders through internal growth and prudent acquisitions."
Mike Fries, President and CEO of UGC, commented, "The benefits of
this transaction to both sets of shareholders are substantial.
Liberty Global will have one of the strongest balance sheets in the
industry, additional cash to pursue acquisitions and a simplified
and more liquid trading market for its stock. In addition to
rationalizing our respective interests in Chile and clarifying
future corporate opportunities, the deal also provides UGC
shareholders with an interest in the fast growing Japanese market
at an attractive valuation. We are very excited about the global
scale this transaction creates and the benefits that will accrue to
both parties. Lastly, the management teams from both companies
complement each other extremely well and are dedicated to
continuing our track record of 'best in class' growth." The merger,
which has been negotiated and approved by a special committee of
the independent directors of UGC, is subject to LMI and UGC
stockholder approval, which in the case of UGC will include an
affirmative vote of a majority of the shares not beneficially owned
by LMI and its affiliates, and other customary consents and
approvals. The transaction is expected to close in the second
quarter of this year. LMI was advised by Banc of America Securities
and Baker Botts LLP. The UGC special committee was advised by
Morgan Stanley and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. Additional
Information In connection with the proposed transaction, LMI and
UGC will file a proxy statement/prospectus with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. STOCKHOLDERS OF EACH COMPANY AND OTHER
INVESTORS ARE URGED TO READ THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS
(INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THE JOINT PROXY
STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS) REGARDING THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION WHEN IT
BECOMES AVAILABLE BECAUSE IT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
Stockholders will be able to obtain a free copy of the joint proxy
statement/prospectus, as well as other filings containing
information about LMI and UGC, without charge, at the SEC's
Internet site (http://www.sec.gov/). Copies of the joint proxy
statement/prospectus and the filings with the SEC that will be
incorporated by reference in the joint proxy statement/prospectus
can also be obtained, without charge, by directing a request to
Liberty Media International, Inc., 12300 Liberty Boulevard,
Englewood, Colorado 80112, Attention: Investor Relations Telephone:
(877) 783-7676, or to UnitedGlobalCom, Inc., 4643 South Ulster
Street, Suite 1300, Denver, Colorado 80237, Attn: Investor
Relations Department Telephone (303) 770-4001. Participants in
Solicitation The respective directors and executive officers of LMI
and UGC and other persons may be deemed to be participants in the
solicitation of proxies in respect of the proposed transaction.
Information regarding LMI's directors and executive officers is
available in its registration statement on Form S-1/A filed with
the SEC by LMI on July 19, 2004 and in its current report on Form
8-K filed with the SEC by LMI on November 12, 2004, and information
regarding UGC's directors and executive officers is available in
its proxy statement filed with the SEC by UGC on October 25, 2004.
Other information regarding the participants in the proxy
solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect
interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained the
joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials to be
filed with the SEC when they become available. About LMI Liberty
Media International, Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYANASDAQ:LBTYB) owns interests
in broadband distribution and content companies operating outside
the U.S., principally in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Through
its subsidiaries and affiliates, LMI is the largest cable
television operator outside the United States in terms of video
subscribers. LMI's businesses include UnitedGlobalCom, Inc.,
Jupiter Telecommunications Co., Ltd., Jupiter Programming Co.,
Ltd., Liberty Cablevision of Puerto Rico, LLC and Pramer S.C.A.
About UGC UGC (NASDAQ:UCOMA) is a leading international provider of
video, voice, and broadband Internet services with operations in 15
countries, including 12 countries in Europe. Based on the Company's
operating statistics at September 30, 2004, UGC's networks reached
approximately 15.5 million homes passed and served over 11.1
million RGUs, including approximately 9.1 million video
subscribers, 761,000 telephone subscribers and 1.3 million
broadband Internet subscribers. Certain statements in this press
release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,
including completion of the transaction. Such forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
important factors that could cause the actual results, performance
or achievements of Liberty Global, Inc., Liberty Media
International, Inc., UnitedGlobalCom, Inc., and their respective
subsidiaries or industry results, to differ materially from any
future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and
other factors include, among others: the risks and factors
described in the publicly filed documents of Liberty Media
International and UnitedGlobalCom, including their most recently
filed Forms 10-K; general economic and business conditions and
industry trends in the countries in which we operate; currency
exchange risks; the continued strength of the industries in which
we operate; uncertainties inherent in proposed business strategies
and development plans; rapid technological changes; future
financial performance, including availability, terms and deployment
of capital; availability of qualified personnel; changes in, or the
failure or the inability to comply with, government regulation in
the countries in which we operate, and adverse outcomes from
regulatory proceedings; changes in the nature of key strategic
relationships with partners and joint venturers; competitor
responses to the products and services of Liberty Media
International and UnitedGlobalCom, and the overall market
acceptance of such products and services, including acceptance of
the pricing of such products and services. These forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date of this Release. Liberty Media
International and UnitedGlobalCom expressly disclaims any
obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions
to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any
change in the respective expectations of Liberty Media
International and UnitedGlobalCom with regard thereto or any change
in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement
is based. The transaction is subject to customary closing
conditions, including regulatory, stockholder and other third party
consents and approvals. DATASOURCE: Liberty Media International,
Inc. CONTACT: Mike Erickson of Liberty Media International,
+1-800-783-7676; or Denver, Richard S. L. Abbott, +1-303-220-6682,
or London, Claire Appleby, +44 20 7 838 2004, or Europe, Bert
Holtkamp, +31 (0) 778 9447, all of UnitedGlobalCom Web site:
http://www.unitedglobal.com/irFmain.html Web site:
http://www.libertymediainternational.com/ir
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