Malone Resurrects Swiss Deal with $5.4 Billion Sunrise Bid
- Previously opposed investor Freenet will sell its 24% stake
- Liberty becomes buyer to revive effort that fell apart in 2019
Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/AFP via Getty Images
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Billionaire John Malone’s Liberty Global Plc has agreed to buy Sunrise Communications AG in a deal that values the Swiss phone carrier at about 5 billion Swiss francs ($5.4 billion) and revives a combination that fell through last year.
The cable giant offered 110 Swiss francs per share, and Sunrise’s largest shareholder, Freenet AG, has agreed to sell its 24% stake, Liberty said in a statement on Wednesday. The offer is a 28% premium to Sunrise’s closing share price on Tuesday. Sunrise shares surged as much as 27% at the Swiss market open to 109.5 francs.