Freshfields, A&O Shearman, Slaughter and May and NautaDutilh advised on Liberty Global’s acquisition of Vodafone’s 50% stake in VodafoneZiggo.
Under the terms of the transaction, Vodafone will receive €1 billion in cash and a 10% shareholding in Ziggo Group, a newly formed Benelux entity that will hold Liberty Global’s interests in VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands and Telenet in Belgium and Luxembourg.
Liberty Global intends to spin off its 90% stake in Ziggo Group to its shareholders and list 100% of Ziggo Group on Euronext Amsterdam in 2027. As part of the transaction, Liberty Global and Vodafone have also entered long-term service arrangements, including brand licensing and operational services.
Freshfields acted as lead adviser to Liberty Global on the transaction.
The team was led by Partner Hanneke Rothbarth (Corporate/M&A, Amsterdam) and Partner Deborah Janssens (Corporate/M&A, Brussels), with support from Counsel Marius Weyers (Amsterdam), Principal Associate Joachim De Vos (Brussels), and Associates Anne Zwolsman (Amsterdam) and Sarah Wauthion (Brussels).
Tax advice was led by Partner Bob Van Kasteren, with support from Senior Associate Daan Van Schaik (both Amsterdam).
A&O Shearman advised Liberty Global on the commercial aspects of the acquisition and the long-term service agreements relating to VodafoneZiggo, as well as on the transfer of Benelux assets into Ziggo Group.
The team was led by Partner Nigel Parker, with support from Senior Associate Sophie Levett and Associates Laetitia Nappert-Rosales and Patricia Woodbridge. M&A advice was led by Partners Alex Tilley and Ed Holmes, with support from Senior Associate Sam Brooks.
Slaughter and May advised Vodafone on the sale of its 50% interest in VodafoneZiggo and the related arrangements, including Vodafone’s 10% shareholding in Ziggo Group and ongoing service agreements.
The team was led by Partners Victoria MacDuff and Richard Hilton, with support from Associates Naomi Lawson, Srimukundan Rajaram and Charlie Edmonds.
NautaDutilh acted as Dutch counsel to Vodafone alongside Slaughter and May.
The team was led by Corporate M&A Partner Willianne van Zandwijk and Technology Partner Joris Willems, with support from Jules van de Winckel and Elodie Smits (Corporate M&A, notarial), Max Mohrmann and Paula van Stratum (Technology), Naomi Asscheman (Corporate M&A), Jurriaan Bos and Jasmijn van Koetsveld (Competition), and Daniël Kuiper and Naud van Doorn (Employment).
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