LGI combines Unitymedia, Kabel BW to form… Unitymedia KabelBW

US firm Liberty Global Inc (LGI) has completed the merger of its two German cable units, Unitymedia and Kabel BW, into a combined entity known as Unitymedia KabelBW. The individual brands of Unitymedia and Kabel BW will continue to exist in the pair’s separate footprints of North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, and Baden-Wurttemberg, respectively. TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database states that LGI re-entered the German market in November 2009, when it agreed to acquire 100% of Unitymedia for an enterprise value of EUR3.5 billion (USD4.4 billion); after receiving regulatory approval, the acquisition was completed two months later. In March 2011 the US firm then agreed to buy Kabel BW for EUR3.16 billion, trumping bids from CVC Capital Partners and Hellman & Friedman. The deal received antitrust approval the following December, subject to certain conditions. The combined entity operates a network passing 12.5 million homes in the three states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse and Baden-Wurttemberg, and as at 31 March 2012 had a customer base of around seven million.