European Union regulators said on Friday they had referred Liberty Global's (LBTYA.O) planned purchase of cable firm Kabel BW to competition authorities in Germany, since the deal might affect some free TV services. The deal, valued at 3.16 billion euros, may impact on the provision of free TV services to housing associations, where contracts with tenants are negotiated collectively, the European Commission said in a statement. "The Commission's preliminary investigation, conducted in close and trustful cooperation with the Bundeskartellamt (German competition authority), revealed that the proposed transaction risks to significantly affect competition for the retail supply of free TV services to housing associations in Germany," it said in a statement. Germany asked for the referral of the case on May 16, arguing that it threatened to significantly affect competition in some of its domestic TV-related markets. The acquisition would position U.S. cable company Liberty Global as a major player in Germany. It already owns German cable company Unitymedia.
Liberty Global, Inc. (LGI) is an international provider of video, broadband Internet and telephony services, with consolidated broadband communications and/or direct-to-home satellite (DTH) operations. Shares of LBTYA remained unchanged at $39.94. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $25.18 and as high as $47.30. On average, 1650850 shares of LBTYA exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 0.
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