Chris Hughes, Columnist

John Malone’s European Temptation

The cable tycoon is close to exiting another European market. That doesn’t mean he’s looking to shrink.

February 27, 2019 at 12:37 PM UTC

Chris Hughes is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals. Previously, he worked for Reuters Breakingviews, the Financial Times and the Independent newspaper.

John Malone.Photographer: Scott Olson/Getty Images North America

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

John Malone is shrinking his empire and giving himself some options. Shareholders in the cable tycoon’s Liberty Global Plc need to be alert to the risk that this is preparation for another splurge of buying.

The latest part of the portfolio to be pruned is in Switzerland. On Wednesday, cable operator Sunrise Communications Group AG said it was in talks to buy Malone’s UPC Switzerland in a deal valuing the company at about 6.3 billion Swiss francs ($6.3 billion) on a debt-free basis.