, Columnist
John Malone Goes Mobile
Vodafone will still retain its allure for the cable billionaire
This article is for subscribers only.
Thwarted in his attempt to strike a deal in Europe with Vodafone, a mobile phone giant based in the humdrum English town of Newbury, John Malone has opted for a smaller Caribbean excursion instead.
One interpretation of the Liberty Global chairman's agreed bid for Cable & Wireless is that he's grown frustrated in his hunt for European assets and spies better returns in the Americas. The $5.3 billion purchase will lift Liberty's revenues from Latin America and the Caribbean from 7 percent to 17.4 percent. Liberty expects the combination to deliver low double-digit operating cash flow growth in the medium term, compared with the high single-digit growth it's aiming for in Europe.