Vodafone Group agreed to sell its 50% stake in Dutch fixed and mobile operator VodafoneZiggo to JV partner Liberty Global for €1 billion. It would take a minority stake in a new holding company.
Vodafone stated it will take a 10% share of a soon-to-be-formed entity called Ziggo Group, which will own 100% of both VodafoneZiggo and Liberty Global’s Belgian subsidiary Telenet. Liberty Global then intends to spin off a 90% stake in Ziggo Group to existing shareholders through a listing in Amsterdam in 2027.
Vodafone also has the option to sell its 10% shareholding in Ziggo Group to a third party, should the spin-off not occur within 18 months of completion. As part of the agreement, Vodafone has agreed to provide certain services, including brand licensing, to VodafoneZiggo with expected charges of €625 million over the next ten years. Vodafone’s sale is subject to regulatory clearance and is expected to close in the second half of 2026.
Margherita Della Valle, CEO of Vodafone, described the sale as an attractive valuation, while pointing to the potential for value creation through its stake in Ziggo Group, which she claimed is“a business with greater scale.
The sale will mark the end of almost a decade-long joint venture partnership between Vodafone and Liberty Global, after the pair created VodafoneZiggo in 2017. Vodafone has been actively selling its assets in recent years, sealing deals to offload operations in Spain and Italy, as well as merging its unit in the UK with CK Hutchison’s.
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