Liberty Global to put LiLAC spin-off to vote this month

Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries

Liberty Global’s spin-off of its Latin American and Caribbean assets with the creation of a tracking stock is a “good deal for investors” that will “give investors a choice…to decide where they want to invest”, according to president and CEO Mike Fries.

Fries, speaking on an analyst call after Liberty Global’s full-year results at the end of last week, said that the spin-off of the unit, known as LiLAC, will be put to a shareholder vote on February 24.

Fries said that there is a “significant opportunity to expand” in Latin America, where broadband penetration is limited to 25% and pay TV to 40%.

LiLAC will comprise VTR in Chile and Liberty’s Puerto Rican subsidiary Cablevision. Fries said that there was a “very interesting consolidation opportunity” in the region that would be easier to communicate to investors within a dedicated organization. However the move to a tracking stock would still enable Liberty to share management expertise, technology innovation and purchasing power across the larger group, he said.