Tag Archives: Liberty Global

News, Politics, Government

When Will Bad Governance Affect Value at Liberty Media, Liberty Global, Virgin Media and Charter Communications?

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By Paul Hodgson, Contributor

The news that  chairman John Malone has taken a $2.62BN stake in is not good news for a world in which Governance Matters. Liberty Media‘s governance structure is not one which appears enamoured of public shareholders. Its staggered board (one where directors are only up for election once every three years) consists of mostly long-tenured directors. The multiple classes of stock with different voting rights give far more voting control to Malone than is represented by his economic interest. And the CEO and the CFO are involved in far too many other companies where Malone is also a director or the chairman or a significant owner.

From: http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulhodgson/2013/04/17/when-will-bad-governance-affect-value-at-liberty-media-liberty-global-virgin-media-and-charter-communications/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Liberty Global Acquires a 12.65% Stake in Ziggo, the Largest Cable Operator in the Netherlands

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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Liberty Global Acquires a 12.65% Stake in Ziggo, the Largest Cable Operator in the Netherlands

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Liberty Global, Inc. (“Liberty Global,” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB and LBTYK) today announces that it has acquired 25.3 million shares in Ziggo N.V. (“Ziggo”) from Barclays Capital Securities Limited at €25.00 per share (the “Purchase Price”), for a total investment of approximately €632.5 million. As a result of this investment, Liberty Global owns 12.65% of Ziggo, based on the shares outstanding as of December 31, 2012.

Liberty Global considers the acquisition of this minority stake in Ziggo as an attractive opportunity to make a strategic investment in a market where it already enjoys a sizeable presence through its UPC Netherlands subsidiary. The Purchase Price is also financially attractive given the stock‘s approximate 7.4% dividend yield, which is implied by Ziggo’s expectation that it will pay €370 million of dividends during 2013.

Liberty Global will fund the acquisition of Ziggo shares with a non-recourse margin loan and existing liquidity. As the transaction does not result in Liberty Global obtaining a controlling interest in Ziggo, no regulatory approvals are required.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the transaction and the anticipated consequences and benefits of the transaction, Ziggo’s expected dividends, and the impact of the transaction on our operations and financial performance. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. These risks and uncertainties include overall financial market conditions, any material business or financial developments at Ziggo, the continued use by subscribers and potential subscribers of Ziggo’s services, as well as other factors detailed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including our most recently filed Form 10-K. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. The Company 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 Company’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

About Liberty Global

Liberty Global is the leading international cable company, with operations in 13 countries. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Norsat Selected as Preferred Supplier to O3b Networks

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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Norsat Selected as Preferred Supplier to O3b Networks


Norsat to provide microwave transmission and reception components for the launch of O3b’s next generation Ka-Band satellite constellation

VANCOUVER, British Columbia–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Norsat International Inc. (“Norsat” or “the Company”) (TSX: NII and OTC BB: NSATF), a leading provider of innovative communication solutions that enable the transmission of data, audio and video for challenging applications and environments, announces their selection as an authorized supplier of microwave components for O3b Network ground terminals. Norsat will provide O3b custom frequency 5W and 10W Block Upconverters (BUCs) and Low Noise Blocks Downconverters (LNBs) for the launch of O3b Networks‘ next generation Ka-Band satellite constellation. The revolutionary constellation will be used for telecommunications and data backhaul from remote locations, and consumer broadband internet services for maritime customers.

Norsat’s microwave components have been custom designed for reliability and performance, and the first major application of the high performance design will be O3b’s new maritime communications network. Through this multi-year, multi-million dollar project, O3b Networks‘ will provide high-speed satellite-delivered broadband service at sea through the integration of Norsat’s LNBs into maritime systems. By summer 2013, thousands of guests aboard networked maritime vessels will be the first to enjoy the enhanced connectivity of the O3b network, powered by Norsat technology.

“We’re pleased to be selected as a preferred vendor to O3b Networks and look forward to building the first Medium Earth Orbit satellite constellation through this partnership.” states Norsat President and CEO, Dr. Amiee Chan. “The customizations we’ve introduced to our leading edge microwave products make them ideal for projects with high reliability requirements, such as communications at sea. This new partnership with O3b is another milestone as we deliver on our mission to develop innovative communications products and services for challenging applications and environments.”

About O3b Networks

O3b Networks Limited is a global satellite service provider building a next-generation satellite network for telecommunications operators, Internet service providers, enterprise and government customers in emerging markets. The O3b system will combine the global reach of satellite with the speed of a fiber‐optic network providing billions of consumers and businesses in nearly 180 countries with low‐cost, high‐speed, low latency Internet and mobile connectivity. O3b Networks‘ investors include SES, Google, Liberty Global, HSBC Principal …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Liberty Global Helps Young People to Manage Their Digital Identity

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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Liberty Global Helps Young People to Manage Their Digital Identity

Partner of new ‘Get Online Week’ Alliance

AMSTERDAM–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Liberty Global, Inc. (“Liberty Global“) (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB and LBTYK), the leading international cable company, has joined forces with Microsoft and Accenture to support Get Online Week (GOW2013) and empower young people to develop a secure and responsible digital identity.

This year’s Get Online Week, an annual campaign organized by Telecentre-Europe, not only focuses on bringing first-time users online, but has a strong focus on educating young people to manage their digital identity and online reputation. This is becoming increasingly important for young people to realize when applying for universities or jobs.

Mara Jakobsone, Chair of Telecentre-Europe explains, “Since its take off in 2010, our annual Get Online Week campaign has reached more than 500,000 Europeans in more than 20,000 ICT learning centres across Europe. Initially, the campaign was focused on bringing new people online, but now the focus has moved to upskilling and reskilling people through a large series of exciting events, training sessions and competitions, all over Europe.”

The Web We Want

Liberty Global recently launched an educational handbook, ‘The Web We Want’, targeting young people in the ages of 13-16. ‘The Web We Want’ is an important part of Liberty Global‘s ‘Promoting a Digital Society’ program and aims to equip young people with the tools they need to make informed online decisions. It covers topics such as freedom of expression, thinking before you post, online and offline values, staying in control of what you share online, first impressions, how people present themselves to the world, who you share content with, identity deception and privacy protection.

Manuel Kohnstamm, Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer of Liberty Global said, “Managing your online reputation is becoming increasingly important for younger generations, in particular when preparing for university and business careers. Our new educational resource, ‘The Web We Want’, will help encourage young people to think about their digital identity and how it can determine their online reputation in the future.”

Get Online Week & Liberty Global

Many of Liberty Global‘s European operations are further supporting the Get Online Week campaign through a range of activities …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Are Shorts Watching This Number at Liberty Global?

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By Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool

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There’s no foolproof way to know the future for Liberty Global (NAS: LBTY.A) or any other company. However, certain clues may help you see potential stumbles before they happen — and before your stock craters as a result.

A cloudy crystal ball
 In this series, we use accounts receivable and days sales outstanding to judge a company’s current health and future prospects. It’s an important step in separating the pretenders from the market’s best stocks. Alone, AR — the amount of money owed the company — and DSO — the number of days’ worth of sales owed to the company — don’t tell you much. However, by considering the trends in AR and DSO, you can sometimes get a window onto the future.

Sometimes, problems with AR or DSO simply indicate a change in the business (like an acquisition), or lax collections. However, AR that grows more quickly than revenue, or ballooning DSO, can, at times, suggest a desperate company that’s trying to boost sales by giving its customers overly generous payment terms. Alternately, it can indicate that the company sprinted to book a load of sales at the end of the quarter, like used-car dealers on the 29th of the month. (Sometimes, companies do both.)

Why might an upstanding firm like Liberty Global do this? For the same reason any other company might: to make the numbers. Investors don’t like revenue shortfalls, and employees don’t like reporting them to their superiors.

Is Liberty Global sending any potential warning signs? Take a look at the chart below, which plots revenue growth against AR growth, and DSO:

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. FQ = fiscal quarter.

The standard way to calculate DSO uses average accounts receivable. I prefer to look at end-of-quarter receivables, but I’ve plotted both above.

Watching the trends
 When that red line (AR growth) crosses above the green line (revenue growth), I know I need to consult the filings. Similarly, a spike in the blue bars indicates a trend worth worrying about. Liberty Global‘s latest average DSO stands at 30.6 days, and the end-of-quarter figure is 34.7 days. Differences in business models can generate variations in DSO, and business needs can require occasional fluctuations, but all things being equal, I like to see this figure stay steady. So, let’s get back to our original question: Based on DSO and sales, does Liberty Global look like it might miss its numbers in the next quarter or two?

The numbers don’t paint a clear picture. For the last fully reported fiscal quarter, Liberty Global‘s year-over-year revenue grew 13.5%, …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

News, Politics, Government

Why Mergers Kill Customer Value

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By Christine Crandell, Contributor The M&A season is underway. Dell is looking at a $24 billion private equity deal that will privatize the company. Berkshire Hathaway is looking to buy H. J. Heinz, the ketchup brand, for $23 billion. Liberty Global wants to buy Virgin Media, a British cable provider, for $16 billion. US Airways and American Airlines are merging to form the world’s largest airline. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest