Vodafone (VOD) and Liberty Global have embraced the Dutch tradition of splitting the dinner bill. The mobile titan and the cable giant plan to merge their Netherlands operations and each take a 50 per cent stake, allowing Vodafone to sell its mobile services to Liberty's broadband, TV and landline customers and vice versa.
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Vodafone has agreed to pay €1bn (£0.8bn) to Liberty Global to equalise its stake in what would be the nation's second-largest mobile and cable business behind KPN. Management pegs potential revenue, cost and capital spending synergies at €3.5bn (£2.7bn) after integration costs. It also expects €280m in annual cost and capital expenditure savings in time.