Telenet sells Luxembourg operation to Eltrona, takes stake in combined company

Liberty Global-backed Belgian cable operator Telenet is to fold its Luxembourg subsidiary into the country’s number one cable operator Eltrona, in which it is taking a minority stake.

The agreement between Telenet and Eltrona’s shareholders will see Eltrona take over SFR-Coditel, Telenet’s existing operation in the Grand Duchy, through a merger, accompanied by the issue of new shares to Telenet. Luxembourg incumbent operator Post Luxembourg will meanwhile sell its 34% stake in Eltrona to Telenet, giving the Belgian operator a 50% minus one share stake in the combined operation. Eltrona’s other existing sharehodlers will retain the majority.

The agreement gives Eltrona national scale within Luxembourg.

Telenet took over SFR-Coditel Luxembourg three years ago as part of its acquisition of Belgian parent SFR-Coditel.

The new structure will see the SFR brand disappear from Luxembourg, to be replaced by Eltrona by the end of June at the latest.

The merger is set to be finalised within the next few weeks and the parties are working to ensure that the joint venture can begin operating at around the beginning of April.

“This merger enables Eltrona to consolidate its position in Luxembourg, making it more competitive on the Grand Duchy’s telecommunications market. The pooling of resources and the expertise of Telenet and Eltrona will allow Eltrona to develop its range of products and services, while meeting the needs of the Luxembourg market in the best possible way,” said Paul Denzle, CEO of Eltrona.

“This strategic partnership is the ideal solution, for both Telenet and Eltrona. Both parties possess complementary skills and we believe that combining them will enable us to offer an attractive grouped range of telecommunications products and services (television, Internet, mobile telephony) on a Luxembourg market that is constantly developing,” said John Porter, CEO of Telenet.