Liberty makes bid for Ziggo

US cable group Liberty Global has made an approach to buy Dutch cable TV broadcaster Ziggo as it looks to bolster its position in Europe’s telecom sector.

Ziggo, which has a market value of €6.3bn (US$8.51bn), said this week it had rejected a potential offer from Liberty, is largest shareholder, as “inadequate,” without disclosing the financial details.

A spokesman for Ziggo said: “The potential offer was considered inadequate and there is no certainty that Ziggo will receive any revised offer. Further announcements will be made if and when relevant.”

John Malone’s international cable business already holds 28.5% of Ziggo, after the company upped its stake from 18.2% in July.

If successful, the move would be part of a series of acquisitions of European assets by Liberty.

In June, Liberty completed its acquisition of UK cable firm Virgin Media in a deal valued at £15bn (US$23.3bn).

However, the company lost out in its bid for Germany’s largest cable operator Kabel Deutschland to Vodafone, which paid €7.7bn for the company.