Liberty Global Completes Aster Buy

Liberty Global said Friday it has completed the $805 million purchase of Polish cable operator Aster from Mid Europa Partners. Liberty Global said in a statement that effective upon closing, Aster became part of the UPC Holding B.V. credit group.
The international cable giant received government approval for the purchase on Sept. 6, on the condition it divest some of its overlapping properties in Poland.
Liberty Global announced its intention to acquire Aster, the second largest cable operator in Poland with about 368,000 video customers, on Dec. 6. In a statement Sept. 6, Poland's regulatory authority UOKiK said it would approve the deal as long as Liberty divests part of its network in Warsaw and Krakow. Liberty already owns the largest cable operator in the country - UPC Polska - and combined with Aster would control between 50% and 60% of the market in the two cities. UOKiK said that for the deal to go through, Liberty would have to reduce that control to no more than 40% within 18 months.