Liberty Media also acquires DeTeKS and MediaServices Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT) today announced that it has signed a contract for the sale of further six of its nine regional cable TV companies to Liberty Media Corporation. Deutsche Telekom is selling to Liberty Media its entire interest in these six regions including Deutsche Telekoms's Level 4 operator Deutsche Telekom Kabel Services GmbH (DeTeKS). In addition, Deutsche Telekom is selling Media Services GmbH (MSG), an IT service Provider and operator of a neutral digital distribution platform in Germany. The sale to Liberty Media will release a total consideration of about Euro 5.5 billion. The transfer of operational responsibility will follow the completion of the antitrust process.
"As of today, Deutsche Telekom has achieved its objective of splitting off its cable TV activities," said Gerd Tenzer, Member of Deutsche Telekom's Board of Management, responsible for Production and Technology. "As a result of this agreement, we are now even more effectively positioned to focus on our four pillar growth strategy. The sale of all our cable TV assets is an important part of our non-core assets disposal program. The proceeds will be used for debt reduction."
Liberty Media is acquiring the cable TV regions of Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein/Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Bremen/Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate/Saarland, Berlin/Brandenburg, Saxony/Saxony-Anhalt/Thuringia and Bavaria. More than 10 million households are connected to the cable network in the six regions.
All companies employ about 2,800 staff. With this agreement Deutsche Telekom has sold all nine cable TV regions completely or by majority. In the regions of North-Rhine Westphalia and Hesse, the transfer of operational responsibility has already taken place and in Baden-Württemberg it is imminent.
Background information on KDG, DeTeKS and MSG Deutsche Telekom AG's broadband cable business is carried out through its fully consolidated subsidiaries: Kabel Deutschland GmbH (KDG), MSG and DeTeKS.
KDG was founded on 1 January 1999 and serves as a holding company for the regional companies. These regional companies are responsible for the operation and marketing of the network. Via DeTeKS, Deutsche Telekom AG complements its cable TV offer by the marketing and operation of "last mile" distribution networks (network level 4).
MSG is an IT service provider for the regional companies and operates the neutral platform for digital TV.
About Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom is Europe's largest communications company and one of the largest communications carriers worldwide based on 2000 revenues of 40.9 billion euros ($38.6 billion). The company is active in four key growth segments of the global telecommunications market: mobile communications, network access services, consumer Internet services and integrated IT and telecommunications solutions. Through T-Mobile , Deutsche Telekom's mobile telephony subsidiary, and through other subsidiaries and investments, Deutsche Telekom today serves more than 58 million mobile telephony customers worldwide. In June 2001, Deutsche Telekom completed the acquisition of U.S. mobile telephony companies VoiceStream Wireless and Powertel Inc., forming the first transatlantic wireless communications operator utilizing the GSM digital wireless technology standard.Deutsche Telekom offers its customers a complete range of fixed-line voice telephony products and services through more than 55 million access lines. - The company is a leading provider of high-speed digital access lines, with more than 1 million new asymmetric digital subscriber line (T-DSL) services currently sold and 19.3 million channels using the information transfer standard ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) as of June 30, 2001. T-Online is Europe's largest consumer Internet service provider, with approximately 9.2 million subscribers. In January 2001, Deutsche Telekom launched T-Systems , Europe's second-largest provider of comprehensive IT and telecommunications services to business customers in more than 20 countries. For more information about Deutsche Telekom, visit www.telekom.de/international.
About Liberty Media
Liberty Media Corporation holds interests in a broad range of Domestic and International video programming, communications, technology and Internet businesses. Liberty Media's principal assets include interests in Starz Encore Group LLC, Discovery Communications, Inc., AOL Time Warner Inc., QVC, Inc., USA Networks, Inc., Telewest Communications plc, Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc., Motorola, Inc., Sprint PCS Group and The News Corporation Limited.