Liberty Global Hopes To Close on Cable & Wireless Takeover in Q2

Liberty Global plans to buy Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) in a $5.3 billion stock swap, Liberty said in a news release Monday. Liberty Global will issue up to 121 million shares and assume CWC's $2.7 billion in net debt, it said. Acquiring CWC would give Liberty Global "significant scale and management depth to our fast-growing operations in Latin America and the Caribbean," said Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries in a statement. Liberty Global said it hopes to close on CWC in Q2.