[Satellite TODAY Insider 12-16-11] Liberty Global has received regulatory approval to complete its acquisition of Germany’s third largest cable TV operator Kabel BW (KBW) in accordance with the terms of its previously announced purchase agreement, the company announced Dec. 15.

   Liberty Global paid 3.16 billion euros ($4.10 billion) to acquire KBW.

Following the acquisition, Liberty Global will combine KBW with Germany’s second largest operator Unitymedia, which significantly increases the reach of Liberty Global’s operations in Europe’s fastest growing cable market.

   In a statement, Liberty Global President and CEO Mike Fries said the combination of Unitymedia and KBW would allow his company to rollout a powerful platform for innovation and growth. “Together, our German operations pass over 12 million homes, provide over 10 million subscription services and generate approximately 1.6 billion ($2.07 billion) in annualized revenue,” said Fries. “It’s well known that the cable industry in Germany is the primary source of infrastructure-based competition with the incumbent Deutsche Telekom, and we intend to capitalize on the opportunity to bring German consumers the most advanced broadband and digital TV products available.”

   KBW provides television, broadband Internet and telephony services in the German federal state of Baden-Wurttemberg, which is one of the most prosperous regions in Europe. KBW’s broadband communications network served 2.4 million customers at the end of September. Liberty Global said its customers subscribed to 3.8 million video, telephony and broadband Internet services.

   Fries had expressed an intention to expand its German markets through potential asset sales and new acquisitions as early as this past summer. In July, Fries issued a statement that Liberty Global could sell its majority stake in Australian pay television company Austar United Communications to Foxtel for approximately $2.67 billion.

   “It’s a natural move. We were in that market for 15 years. Now there’s a growing platform in Europe, private equity is coming out and there’s great access to capital. We’re hopeful of [European] regulatory approval. The combined German revenue of the companies would be around 1.5 billion euros ($2.14 billion). Understandably, Deutsche Telekom has a very strong opinion on cable consolidation in Germany,” Fries said in the July statement.