By John Miller
ZURICH (Reuters) - Sunrise Communications (S:SRCG) faces costs of up to 125 million Swiss francs, including a break-up fee to Liberty Global (O:LBTYA), after its deal to buy the U.S. firm's Swiss unit collapsed, the Swiss telecommunications company said on Wednesday.
The financial fallout from the failed 6.3 billion franc deal, abandoned after opposition from Sunrise's biggest shareholder, Germany's Freenet (DE:FNTGn), includes a 50 million franc (39.2 million pounds) termination fee to Liberty Global, 19 million francs in underwriting fees and already-incurred integration costs of 24 million francs.
Sunrise last month scrapped the takeover of Liberty Global's UPC Switzerland business when Freenet, which holds 25% of Sunrise, balked on concerns the deal was too expensive and that adding cable assets made little sense just as the industry was moving to faster 5G mobile technology.
Liberty Global said separately late on Tuesday that it was not completely writing off the transaction and held out hopes that it could be resurrected.
"We look forward to continuing our conversations with
either the board or Freenet about a potential transaction that creates significant value for both sets of shareholders and Swiss consumers," Liberty Global said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Sunrise also reported third-quarter results on Wednesday, saying its net income rose 52% to 48 million francs. Revenue increased 1% to 474 million francs, the company said.