After a takeover process that has been ongoing since March, Liberty Global is successful and acquires all shares in the subsidiary Telenet. Telenet will officially disappear from the stock exchange from October 13th.

Liberty Global, Telenet’s majority shareholder, wants to take over the entire Mechelen provider. To this end, the American company made an initial voluntary and conditional offer in March. After a mandatory reopening period that ended September 13, Liberty Global already owns 96 percent of Telenet, but that’s still not enough. The parent company wants to get its hands on everything.

In order to get the last percent, a simplified takeover offer is now running until October 13th. Shareholders can sell their remaining shares to Liberty Global at the original purchase price (22 euros per share). Once this final formality is completed, Telenet’s shares will be delisted. Telenet disappears from the Brussels Stock Exchange after eighteen years.

No surprise

For those who follow the telecommunications provider closely, the takeover offer comes as no surprise. Telenet’s share price has been at a low level for some time, partly due to the upcoming major investments in a new fiber optic network. The provider wants to work with Fluvius so that work can finally begin under the Wyre name in July after a long legal dispute. The gap to the main competitor Proximus is considerable, as the provider itself and together with joint ventures is quickly putting new fiber optics into the ground.

In addition, the auction of radio frequencies for 5G opened the door for the entry of two new providers: Citymesh and Digi. Telenet will have additional competition from 2024. With the share price low, the timing of Liberty Global’s privatization of Telenet is quite interesting. This allows the parent company to keep all profits without having to pay dividends to shareholders. Telenet’s board unanimously supports the plan.

This article originally appeared on March 21st. The text has been updated with the latest information.