Cable One said it is contributing fiber assets from two company units — Clearwave Communications and Hargray Acquisitions Holdings — in a joint venture that will be financed in part by unaffiliated third parties that may accelerate the fiber rollout in portions of its footprint.

According to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 3, Cable One said the fiber assets contributed to the JV represent about 3% of its consolidated revenue for the second quarter ended June 30. The company said the JV is “intended to accelerate deployment of fiber internet to residents and businesses in the relevant markets, as well as to provide connectivity to unserved and underserved areas in such markets.”

Cable One purchased Clearwave Communications, a facilities-based service provider with a fiber network in Southern Illinois, in 2018. It bought the remaining 85% interest in Hargray it didn't already own in May for about $2.2 billion. Unnamed unaffiliated third parties would contribute cash to the JV, Cable One said.  

While terms of the JV are still subject to negotiation and none of the parties have entered into any definitive agreements, some analysts are cheering the arrangement as it is expected to speed Cable One's fiber deployment. 

In a research note Thursday, Wells Fargo Securities media analyst Steven Cahall wrote that the JV would allow the company to deploy fiber in parts of its footprint “in a more capital-efficient way.”

Cable One has been aggressively building out its fiber network over the past few years, and has spent millions of dollars so far in 2021 pushing fiber into rural communities like Natchez, Mississippi and Vidalia, Louisiana; Victoria, Texas; Rio Rancho, New Mexico; and Belle Chasse, Louisiana.

Liberty Latin America said Wednesday that it has agreed to combine its VTR mobile operations in Chile with America Móvil’s Claro Chile in a 50-50 joint venture.

According to Liberty Latin America, VTR has about 3 million mobile subscribers in Chile while Claro Chile has about 6.5 million customers. The combination, the companies said, will create a business with greater scale, a more diversified product line and a more flexible capital structure that will enable it to expand its fiber footprint and offer 5G service. By 2025, the JV said it expects its fixed network to pass 6 million homes with the majority having access to fiber-to-the-home infrastructure.

Liberty Latin America said the JV will have about $180 million in synergies, mostly related to network and operating efficiencies, 80% of which are expected to be achieved within three years of completing the deal. The transaction should be completed in the second half of 2022. 

This is the second deal Liberty Latin America has reached with America Móvil in the past two weeks. On Sept. 15, Liberty’s Cable & Wireless Panama subsidiary agreed to buy America Móvil's Panama operations — Claro Panama — for about $200 million. 

Liberty said that executive leadership for the JV will be agreed upon prior to the close of the transaction, with the board consisting of eight members, four from each of Liberty and American Móvil. The role of chairperson will rotate between the shareholders and certain actions of the JV will be subject to the consent of both parties.

Liberty Global said it has received final regulatory approval for the 50-50 joint venture to combine its Virgin Media unit with Telefonica’s O2 business from the U.K . Competition & Markets Authority, clearing the path for the June 1 completion of the deal.

CMA approval was the final regulatory hurdle for the deal to be completed. Liberty Global and Spain’s Telefonica first proposed the transaction, which would combine Virgin Media’s broadband internet business with Telefonica’s mobile operations, last May, creating an entity valued at about $38 billion. The combined companies are expected to create a stronger competitor in the U.K. fixed and mobile markets, supporting the expansion of Virgin Media’s giga-ready network and O2’s 5G mobile deployment. The joint venture is expected to deliver about £6.2 billion in synergies and have combined revenue of about £11 billion.

Also Read: Liberty Global Looking at Possible Mobile Deals in Ireland, Poland 

The two companies named Virgin Media CEO Lutz Schüler and O2 chief financial officer Patricia Cobian as CEO and CFO, respectively, of the combined company last month. 

In a joint statement, Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries and Telefonica CEO José Maria Alvarez-Pallete called the deal “a watershed moment in the history of telecommunications in the UK as we are now cleared to bring real choice where it hasn’t existed before, while investing in fiber and 5G that the UK needs to thrive. We thank the CMA for conducting a thorough and efficient review. Lutz and Patricia are now set to take the reins and launch a national connectivity champion that will connect more people, ignite more businesses back to growth and power more communities for the greater good.”

Liberty Global and Vodafone have named Jeroen Hoencamp CEO and Ritchy Drost chief financial officer of their proposed joint venture in the Netherlands, the companies said Tuesday.

Liberty Global and Vodafone announced the JV in February. The 50-50 partnership, which is still in the regulatory review process, is a combination of Liberty Global's Ziggo Dutch cable operations and Vodafone Netherlands.

Hoencamp is currently the CEO of Vodafone UK. A Dutch citizen,  he has led Vodafone’s UK business since September 2013 and was previously Chief Executive of Vodafone Ireland. In addition, Vodafone named Hoencamp CEO OF Vodafone Netherlands, effective Sept. 1.

Drost has been CFO of Ziggo since September 2015. Over a 17-year career with Liberty Global he has held a number of senior management positions including CFO European Broadband Operations and Managing Director and CFO of UPC Netherlands, Liberty’s predecessor Dutch cable operation. Prior to joining Liberty Global, he was an auditor at Arthur Andersen.

 “Jeroen and Ritchy are experienced business leaders with extensive operational, strategic and merger integration experience," Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao and Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries said in a joint statement.We are delighted they will be shaping our companies’ shared mission to create a strong and competitive integrated communications provider serving consumers, businesses and public sector customers in the Dutch market."

Additionally, Liberty Global announced that Ziggo CEO Baptiest Coopmans will remain in that position until completion of the transaction, after which he will join the supervisory board of the joint venture as one of Liberty Global’s appointed directors.  Coopmans has served as Ziggo CEO since November 2014 and successfully led the merger and integration of UPC and Ziggo.

Vodafone Netherlands CFO Carmen Velthuis will remain in her current position until the merger has completed. Vodafone will announce her subsequent assignment at a later date.

 “I am particularly pleased that Baptiest Coopmans has agreed to join the joint venture supervisory board once the transaction is completed," Fries said in a statement. "He is an experienced leader and a trusted member of my executive team whose knowledge of the Dutch broadband and pay TV market will be invaluable. I look forward to working with Baptiest in this new role and exploring other opportunities in the Liberty group.”