Ziggo Group prepares for Amsterdam stock exchange listing

VodafoneZiggo and Belgian telecoms operator Telenet have formally merged to create Ziggo Group, with plans to list on the Amsterdam stock exchange in May or September next year.

The combined holding company will keep both brands separate, leaving each operating company responsible for its own customers, workforce, and commercial performance.

Chief executive Stephen van Rooyen said the goal is to avoid heavy centralised management while cooperating behind the scenes on technology and network infrastructure contracts.

Joint purchasing and leadership changes

The group expects joint procurement and shared scale to yield 1 billion euros in cost efficiencies. Whether the restructuring will lead to job cuts remains undecided, with Van Rooyen stating that staffing will be evaluated as the group develops.

Jany Fruytier has been appointed chief financial officer of both Ziggo Group and VodafoneZiggo. He replaces Ritchy Drost, who is leaving after nearly thirty years with Liberty Global and its predecessors, while Robin Kroes steps in as deputy head of VodafoneZiggo.

Cutting debt ahead of listing

Ahead of the planned float, Ziggo Group plans to lower net debt to around 4.5 times operating profit by the end of 2028. Liberty Global intends to sell between 1.2 billion and 1.4 billion euros in assets to achieve this target.

As an initial step, VodafoneZiggo agreed to sell its Dutch transmission towers to an investor consortium for 669 million euros, using the proceeds to pay down debt.

Structure of the market return

The market debut will not involve a conventional share sale to new public investors. Instead, existing shareholders of Liberty Global will automatically receive shares in Ziggo Group, which they can retain or trade on the open market.

Almost all shares will become freely tradeable immediately, apart from a 10% stake retained by Vodafone. Liberty Global acquired most of Vodafone’s interest in VodafoneZiggo for 1 billion euros, giving Liberty a 90% stake in the combined holding.

The move marks a potential return to the Damrak for Ziggo, which previously traded publicly from 2012 until its acquisition in late 2014.

Source: De Telegraaf