18th Feb 2026 15:44
(Alliance News) - Vodafone Group PLC on Wednesday said it is selling its 50% share of Dutch business VodafoneZiggo to its joint venture partner Liberty Global Ltd, which noted that it is also buying UK-based Substantial Group Ltd.
Denver, Colorado-based telecommunications operator Liberty Global is paying Berkshire, England-based Vodafone EUR1.0 billion in cash and a 10% interest in a new company.
Liberty Global Class A shares rose 8.4% to USD12.10 on Wednesday morning in New York. Vodafone was up 1.4% to 117.30 pence Wednesday afternoon in London.
The new Benelux-registered company will be called Ziggo Group. It will hold Liberty Global's interest in VodafoneZiggo and Belgian operator Telenet, both of which will continue trading under their existing brand names.
In 2027, Liberty Global plans to list the new Ziggo Group on Amsterdam's Euronext Exchange, and to spin off its 90% stake. It noted "long-term service agreements" with Vodafone to ensure VodafoneZiggo's "stability throughout the transition."
Vodafone noted that it has the option to sell its 10% interest in Ziggo Group if a spin-off does not take place within 18 months of completion, which is expected in the second half of 2026.
According to Liberty Global, the deal creates a regional "powerhouse" with an "attractive equity story". It expects synergies and incremental services to have a combined net present value of EUR1 billion.
The new ZiggoGroup is targeting about EUR500 million in adjusted free cash flow by the end of 2028. Liberty Global sees this supporting its leverage target of 4.5 times, also by the end of 2028.
"This transaction marks a significant milestone in our decades-long commitment to the Benelux region and is fully aligned with our strategy of unlocking long-term value for shareholders," commented Liberty Global Chief Executive Mike Fries.
The Denver-based firm noted it is in the process of selling 50% of another Belgian business called Wyre, and plans to use the proceeds to deleverage Telenet. It will retain 50% ownership of Wyre.
Also on Wednesday, Liberty Global reported the EUR2 billion acquisition of UK-based Substantial. It is making the purchase via nexfibre, a joint venture with Madrid-based peer Telefonica SA and Parisian private equity firm InfraVie Capital Partners.
Substantial is currently owned by an investor consortium comprising Advencap, DigitalBridge Group Inc and Soho Square Capital LLP. According to Liberty Global, it is the UK's second-largest provider of alternative fibre, and the purchase "will unlock GBP3.5 billion of investment in the UK market".
Liberty Global's nexfibre is upgrading Virgin Media O2 customers to a fibre connection. nexfibre will then sell Substantial's retail business, including the YouFibre and Brsk brands, to Virgin Media O2 for GBP150 million. Virgin Media O2 is committing traffic on 4.6 million overlapping and adjacent homes, which will be combined with nexfibre and and with Substantial's network Netomnia.
This will create a "financially secure challenger" to BT Group PLC's Openreach, "with a full fibre footprint of around 8 million premises by the end of 2027", Liberty Global said.
BT shares were down 2.1% at 204.00 pence each in London.
Substantial's Chief Executive Jeremy Chelot said the deal "represents the natural evolution of the UK's fibre market".
Infravia is committing GBP850 million in new net funding for nexfibre, while Liberty Global and Telefonica jointly will invest GBP150 million.
Liberty Global and Telefonica were advised by Barclays PLC and LionTree LLC, InfraVia by Morgan Stanley, and nexfibre by TD Securities Ltd.
Separately, Liberty Global said it swung to a fourth quarter loss of USD2.92 billion, from profit of USD2.33 billion a year prior. For the full year, it swung to a net loss of USD7.10 billion from profit of USD1.87 billion.
Fourth quarter revenue advanced 9.6% to USD1.23 billion from USD1.12 billion a year earlier. Revenue for 2025 climbed 12% to USD4.88 billion from USD4.34 billion.
The numbers do not include VMO2 nor VodafoneZiggo. VMO2's fourth quarter revenue fell 2.3% on-year to USD3.40 billion, while VodafoneZiggo's rose 6.5% to USD1.19 billion. For the full year, VMO2 revenue fell 2.3% to USD13.34 billion and VodafoneZiggo's rose 1.5% to USD4.52 billion. Telefonica owns half of VMO2.
By Holly Munks, Alliance News reporter
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