Carl Murdock-Smith's questions to Liberty Global Ltd (LBTYA) leadership • Q1 2024
Question
Carl Murdock-Smith of Berenberg questioned whether the market is fully recognizing the value of the Ventures portfolio and asked about the long-term strategy for the portfolio: monetization versus continued investment.
Answer
Michael Fries, CEO of Liberty Global, defended the portfolio's third-party valuation, citing the recent All3Media sale at 12x EBITDA as proof of underlying value. He described a flexible strategy of monetizing certain assets to fund strategic initiatives (like the Sunrise deleveraging), while simultaneously investing in high-growth areas like infrastructure where Liberty has a 'right to play.'