LONDON â€" The largest provider of cable television services in the Netherlands has rejected a buyout offer from Liberty Global, the media company controlled by John C. Malone, the company said Wednesday.
Ziggo, the Dutch provider of cable television and broadband services, said it had received a “preliminary proposal†from Liberty Global, but considered the offer “inadequate.†It did not disclose what the offer was.
“There is no certainty that Ziggo will receive any revised offer,†the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
Based in Utrecht, Netherlands, Ziggo provides cable television, broadband and telephone services to about 2.8 million households.
The German magazine Manager Magazin reported Wednesday that Liberty Global, one of Ziggo’s largest shareholders, was planning to buy out the firm and merge it with two other firms it already owns â€" UPC Netherlands, the second largest cable provider in the Netherlands, and Belgium’s Telenet.
Last year, Liberty Global paid $2.5 billion to buy the remaining half of Telenet Group it didn’t previously own. Liberty Global acquired a controlling stake in the Belgium cable company in 2007.
The international broadband arm of Mr. Malone’s media and telecom empire, Liberty Global, also owns Virgin Media in Britain and Unity Media in Germany.
A Liberty Global spokesman wasn’t immediately available to comment Wednesday.
Shares in Ziggo, which also offers a music streaming service and a concert venue in Amsterdam, Ziggo Dome, were up nearly 7 percent, or €1.97, to €31.20 in late afternoon trading.
