Liberty Global (LBTYA, Financial) is the largest international cable company, with operations in 14 countries providing video, broadband Internet, fixed-line telephone and mobile services to its customers. Liberty Global’s shares were strong in the first calendar quarter and made up some of the ground that had been lost during the prior year. The company’s quarterly results were solid, but shares have likely been driven upward as speculation of deals in the media industry has heated up of late, including revived speculation of a potential Vodafone transaction. We view Liberty Global as a standalone provider of broadband and Pay-TV services as an attractive opportunity, and although a potential acquisition by Vodafone may create value for shareholders, our investment thesis is not dependent on such an event.
From Weitz Value Fund first quarter 2017 commentary.
