Less than a fortnight after the European Commission granted its final approval of the deal, and despite the threat of further legal action from rivals, Liberty Global has completed the sale of its operations in Germany, Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic to Vodafone Group.
The deal is valued at approximately €19.0 billion ($21.3 billion) on a US GAAP basis, and Liberty adds that the purchase price represents a multiple for all four businesses combined of 11.5x adjusted Segment OCF, or approximately 24.0x operating free cash flow for 2017, the full fiscal year prior to the deal being first announced. The net cash proceeds were approximately €10.1 billion ($11.3 billion).
In completing its transaction, Liberty Global assured investors that it has hedged the foreign currency risk associated with the net proceeds through the use of various derivative instruments, which had the effect of converting the majority of the Euro denominated proceeds into US dollars at an average $/€ exchange rate of 1.12.
In completing its transaction, Liberty Global assured investors that it has hedged the foreign currency risk associated with the net proceeds through the use of various derivative instruments, which had the effect of converting the majority of the Euro denominated proceeds into US dollars at an average $/€ exchange rate of 1.12.
