German cable operator Kabel Deutschland (KDG) is not planning further acquisitions in the immediate future and will focus on integrating Tele Columbus’s networks pending a positive Cartel Office decision, according to CEO Adrian von Hammerstein.
Interviewed by newspaper Die Welt, Von Hammerstein said that KDG would not divest Tele Columbus networks in North-Rhine Westphalia and Hesse, where Liberty Global-owned Unitymedia is the dominant cable player, but would offer competition, notably by providing an alternative to the housing association market.
Von Hammerstein said that a single cable operator across Germany would make industrial sense but that he did not expect this to happen anytime soon.
A Cartel Office decision on KDG’s acquisition of Tele Columbus is expected in January.