Offensive in the mobile communications market: Is UPC planning to swallow Salt or Sunrise?
While UPC owner Liberty Global is slimming down in many places on the European market, it wants to expand its strong position in Switzerland and become number 2 in the mobile communications market.
This is the assumption of the SonntagsZeitung in its current issue. According to the report, Switzerland enjoys a kind of special position in Liberty Global Europe's involvement. While UPC Austria, for example, was sold to Deutsche Telekom at the end of 2017, the market for Internet, television and mobile communications is to be shaken up here.
UPC has a strong position in Switzerland because the company reaches two-thirds of all households via the cable network. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement in the mobile communications market, where UPC has only 100,000 customers. Even Salt, Switzerland's third-largest mobile provider after Swisscom and Sunrise, has around 1.8 million customers. Sunrise has around 2.4 million.
"Soon enough money there"
This sensitive gap in market share could be closed at a stroke if UPC were to take over one of its competitors. The SonntagsZeitung bases its assumption that this scenario could soon become reality on the statements of a Liberty Global manager. He says that there may soon be enough money to swallow Salt or Sunrise.
A takeover would make UPC number 2 in the Swiss market. Behind market leader Swisscom, with which it recently agreed to cooperate: Instead of Salt, the industry leader will supply the network for UPC's mobile services in the future. A deal that, of course, would no longer make much sense after a Salt or Sunrise takeover. "It's not exclusive," Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries waved it off Thursday at the presentation of UPC's annual figures. The Swisscom collaboration would not limit "strategic discussions or opportunities" in any way.
The Swiss telecom market, Fries said, is crying out for rationalization and there are "some options" for UPC Switzerland to "consolidate or become a bigger player." Liberty Global, he said, wants to continue investing in core markets such as Switzerland, "where we see a way to become a national champion."
Salt is said to have been an issue as early as 2015
UPC's "war chest" could soon be full to bursting. SonntagsZeitung cites Credit Suisse estimates that sales in Europe could fetch up to $31 billion. By comparison, Salt changed hands for $2.8 billion in 2015. Even then, a purchase was considered, says the anonymous manager of Liberty Global - but at that time they had other priorities with the build-up in Austria. (hae)
