John Malone's Swiss Poker Game Is 'Do or Die'
Sunrise is straining every sinew to get its takeover of the tycoon’s Swiss business over the line. The future of management could soon be stake.
Cable cowboy.
Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images North AmericaOne of Europe’s most ambitious deals in recent years is in jeopardy. The Zurich-based telecoms operator Sunrise Communications Group AG is straining every sinew to keep its 6.3 billion Swiss francs ($6.3 billion) bid for U.S. billionaire John Malone’s UPC Switzerland alive amid stubborn opposition from its own top shareholder. This is becoming a make-or-break situation for Sunrise’s management.
The logic of the jumbo deal is to created a “converged” company with services spanning conventional and mobile telephony, cable television and broadband. But Sunrise cannot do it without raising funds from its shareholders via a rights offer. That requires a majority vote, which puts investors in control.