Malone wrangles French Noos
Sale viewed as a coup for Suez
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Liberty Media subsid UnitedGlobalCom and French utilities group Suez, Noos' majority shareholder, issued a joint statement Thursday to announce the exclusive talks that knock rival bidder Neuf Telecom out of the running.
Suez owns 50.1% of Noos. But a "drag along" clause obliges other shareholders, including France Telecom, to sell their stakes if Suez wishes.
If the deal goes ahead it will give Malone access to Noos' 1.1 million subscribers. It could also herald what industryites believe will be a rapid consolidation in France's money-losing cable sector -- with the U.S. company center stage. UGC already controls France's fourth cabler, UPC France, with 550,000 subs.
The two remaining operators, Canal Plus subsid N.C. Numericable, which has 800,000 subscribers and France Telecom, with 750,000, are also looking for buyers.
Following recent deregulation designed to revive the sector, it is now possible for a French cable network to serve more than 8 million subs in a single geographical area, such as the Paris region, which is covered by Noos.
Noos' pricetag is widely viewed to be a coup for Suez. After 17 years' existence the cable company posted its first operational profit in 2003 but is weighed down by e800 million ($974 million) in debts. If the deal closes, Liberty Media will pay in debt assumption, without cash.
