[Satellite TODAY Insider 12-07-10] Polish broadcast market consolidation continues at a furious pace as Liberty Global announced Dec. 6 that it entered into an agreement to acquire Aster, one of Poland’s leading national cable operators, with funds managed by Mid-Europa Partners, Liberty Global announced Dec. 6.
    Liberty will acquire Aster for an equity purchase price of $292 million. The purchase price, together with Aster’s adjusted net debt of $513 million at the end of September, brings total transaction costs to approximately $805 million.
“We currently anticipate that we will fund the purchase price with liquidity available to [Liberty], including cash on hand and available debt capacity,” Liberty Global President and CEO Mike Fries said in a statement.
    Along with its debt, Liberty will inherit Aster’s customer base of 368,000 video, 177,000 Internet and 70,000 fixed telephony subscribers. The transaction, expected to close in the first half of 2011, will transition Aster to function as part of Liberty’s UPC Holding credit group.
    “Our Polish operation has consistently been one of our best performers over the last several years. This acquisition will enhance our market position and ensure that our superior network and next generation digital and broadband products are made available to Aster’s customers. The Polish cable TV market is highly fragmented, and this is a natural and necessary step towards consolidating the industry and ensuring that cable continues to drive investment and innovation. Given the characteristics of Aster’s business and the proximity to our existing operations, the deal is attractively priced at approximately 7.3 times our estimate of Aster’s 2011 EBITDA, including anticipated annual synergies to be realized following full integration of the acquisition,” said Fries.
    The Aster acquisition is the second major market shift seen in Poland over the last month. In November, Cyfrowy Polsat acquired Polish TV broadcaster Telewizja Polsat for $1.3 billion. Analysts said the deal made sense for the DTH operator, positioning the company as a major force in the regional media market to help stimulate advertizing revenue gains with more than 3 million subscribers.
    The acquisition also reveals a multi-regional strategy by Mid-Europa Partners, which is also managing Austrian utility company Bewag Group’s efforts to double the subscriber base of its Total TV   DTH platform in Croatia over the next 12 months, Bewag Group Management Board Member Christian Kurz told Satellite TODAY Insider.
    “The investment climate — because of the financial crisis — has changed quite dramatically. Our core business is still our cable business, and that still needs a lot of investment, so if there is a way we can have all the benefits of a nationwide footprint without tying up too much capital expenditure that would be our first choice. … We certainly have all the options as regards taking an equity stake, but right now, it is not on the cards,” said Kurz.