December 21 (SeeNews) - International TV and broadband company Liberty Global said on Friday it has entered into a deal to sell its direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV operations in Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia to M7 Group for 180 million euro ($206 million).
Closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval, which is expected in the first half of 2019, Liberty Global said in a statement.
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Currently, Liberty's DTH business serves customers in Romania under the brand FocusSat, in Hungary under the brand UPC Direct,while in the Czech Republic and Slovakia it operates under the freeSAT brand.
The proceeds from the sale are expected to be used for general corporate purposes, the company said.
Liberty Global is the world’s largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in 11 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC.
M7 Group is a Luxembourg-based media company which operates several direct broadcast satellite pay TV platforms in Austria, Belgium,, Czech Republic, Germany, and in the Netherlands.
The European Commission said earlier this month that it has opened an in-depth investigation to assess Vodafone's proposed acquisition of Liberty Global's cable business in four European countries, including Romania. The 18.4 billion euro deal was announced by Liberty Global in May. In Romania Liberty Global also operates as a fixed telecommunications operator, through its unit UPC Romania.
($= 0.8715 euro)