Kabel Deutschland Holding AG : Kabel Deutschland offers remedy package for the Tele Columbus transaction

Kabel Deutschland offers remedy package for the Tele Columbus transaction

• Addressing FCO concerns in response to statement of objection
• Sale of Tele Columbus network assets in Berlin, Dresden and Cottbus as remedies

Kabel Deutschland Holding AG ('Kabel Deutschland' or 'The Company') has submitted a remedy package for the planned Tele Columbus acquisition ('TC Acquisition') to the German Federal Cartel Office ('FCO'). These remedies are intended to overcome the concerns of the FCO as expressed in the December 2012 statement of objection, especially regarding the housing association market for TV services.

Kabel Deutschland remains convinced that consumers and housing associations in Germany will in fact benefit from the proposed acquisition. As a result of the proposed acquisition, over 900 thousand households in Eastern Germany would obtain first-time access to high speed internet over cable. Thus, the proposed acquisition would contribute significantly to the broadband strategy of the German Government.

As a result of the transaction, Kabel Deutschland would in addition become active outside its current footprint by entering into competition for contracts with housing associations in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse.

The Company does not share the FCO's concerns regarding the proposed acquisition. In order to overcome these concerns, Kabel Deutschland has nevertheless decided to offer the sale of certain network assets and corresponding housing association contracts of Tele Columbus. The FCO considers the sale of network assets to be the only appropriate remedy in the specific case of the TC Acquisition.

The remedy package offers to sell network assets of Tele Columbus in Berlin, Dresden and Cottbus with more than 430 thousand homes connected including the respective housing association contracts. These asset sales would reduce the size of the transaction of originally 2.1 million homes connected by approximately 20%. In terms of subscribers, the asset sales would amount to a reduction of roughly 330 thousand subscribers out of a total of 1.6 million subscribers.

The FCO has not decided on the remedy offer and will put it up for a 'market test'.