DGAP-News: Tele Columbus AG / Key word(s): Mergers & Acquisitions Tele Columbus AG expands cable network portfolio by more than 30,000 households 03.06.2015 / 11:30 --------------------------------------------------------------------- PRESS RELEASE Consolidation of German cable market continues: Tele Columbus expands cable network portfolio by more than 30,000 households Berlin, 3 June 2015. Tele Columbus, the third largest German cable network operator, significantly expanded its network portfolio in April and May 2015 with the acquisition of various small operators and cable networks: As part of several transactions, over 30,000 connected households in Eastern Germany and Lower Saxony have been taken on. Most of the households already have two-way capability and are therefore technically equipped for the provision of Internet and telephony telecommunication services via cable connection. The connection of the new holdings to the company's signal feed now enables Tele Columbus to extend the product range for the supplied customers in those networks and at the same time increase the marketing potential for its product spectrum of analogue, digital and HD TV as well as high-speed Internet and telephone services. By acquiring these additional stocks, Tele Columbus is supporting its company objective to maintain the customer base at the existing high level of around 1.7 million connected households or to expand it - and on this basis, increase the number of products booked by marketing additional services. In the medium term, Tele Columbus intends to supply every customer with an average of 1.7 services, such as cable TV, premium TV and an Internet or phone connection. In order to achieve this, 70 percent of the network portfolio shall be upgraded to two-way capability within the same time frame and connected to the company's signal feed. The newly acquired networks are well situated for this strategic development: They are mainly located in the company's core regions and therefore require little investment, in order to be able to offer the Tele Columbus Group's product spectrum. The holding in Lower Saxony also provides a starting point for additional growth beyond the company's core regions in East and West Germany. "The consolidation of the German cable market continues - and, as the third largest German provider, Tele Columbus plays an important role in this," says Ronny Verhelst, CEO of the Tele Columbus Group. "In addition to growing our product lines, we will continue to use our financial flexibility to tap into the enormous potential created by the merge of cable networks. In doing so, however, we are not investing at any price, only where - from an economic and strategic perspective - we can foreseeably create maximum added value for the company, our housing industry partners and our investors." Cable network operator Tele Columbus supplies around 1.7 million connected households across Germany with TV, Internet, telephony and additional services via cable connection. As a partner to housing associations, local communities and consumers, the company has so far been mainly operating in the federal states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse. In April 2015, Tele Columbus became the first company in the German consumer market to supply its customers with Internet connections that have a transfer rate of up to 400 Megabits per second. To begin with, the service is available in the Potsdam region only but plans are underway to expand into further regions. ______________________ About Tele Columbus The Tele Columbus Group is one of Germany's largest cable network operators. Via its origins - individual regional cable network operators that were merged into Tele Columbus - the company dates back to 1972. About 1.7 million connected households in Germany use Tele Columbus' TV signals and, increasingly, digital broadcast packages, Internet and voice connections provided via high-performance broadband cable. As a national provider with a regional focus and a partner of the housing industry, the Group is present throughout its core markets Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia as well as in numerous key regions in western Germany. In tune with current demand trends, the company is upgrading its networks in a hybrid fibre-optic infrastructure for superfast Internet connections of up to several hundred megabits per second with the state-of-the-art Internet transmission standard DOCSIS 3.0. The broadband cable caters to the entire range of innovative media applications from analogous, digital and high-definition TV to high-speed Internet and voice connections to telemetry services, tenant portals and interactive services. Beyond merely transmitting signals, Tele Columbus uses its own product platform in order to actively increase the programme offering and to develop additional services. Press Contact: Hannes Lindhuber Phone +49 (30) 3388 4170 Fax +49 (30) 3388 9 1999 [email protected] www.telecolumbus.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- 03.06.2015 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: Tele Columbus AG Goslarer Ufer 39 10589 Berlin Germany Phone: +49 (0)30 3388 4177 Fax: +49 (0)30 3388 9 1999 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.telecolumbus.de ISIN: DE000TCAG172 WKN: TCAG17 Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange End of News DGAP News-Service --------------------------------------------------------------------- 364929 03.06.2015