 Bloomberg -- Billionaire John Malones Liberty Global Plc has agreed to buy Sunrise Communications AG in a deal that values the Swiss phone carrier at about 5 billion Swiss francs 5.4 billion and revives a combination that fell through last year.The cable giant offered 110 Swiss francs per share, and Sunrises largest shareholder, Freenet AG, has agreed to sell its 24 stake, Liberty said in a statement on Wednesday. The offer is a 28 premium to Sunrises closing share price on Tuesday. Sunrise shares surged as much as 27 at the Swiss market open to 109.5 francs.The deal reverses a failed transaction from 2019, in which Libertys attempt to sell the companys UPC Switzerland unit to Sunrise crumbled in the face of opposition from Freenet and influential proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services. Freenet is now on-side as a seller rather than a buyer.Sunrise will be de-listed upon the deals completion, but theres a very good chance the combined entity will return to the Zurich stock exchange after the combination is completed, Liberty Global Chief Executive Officer Mike Fries said on a call with reporters. The CEO of the new company has not been agreed yet, he said.Discounting WarThe combination will merge Sunrises wireless network with UPCs high-speed broadband network and video services to create a bigger challenger to the dominant player, Swisscom AG, and potentially ease pricing pressure and pool investment in the competitive market. Swiss carriers have been locked in an aggressive discounting war as they roll out the next generation of wireless and fixed networks.This powerful combination of 5G wireless and gigabit broadband will accelerate digital investment at a time when connectivity has never been more essential, Fries said in the statement. This transaction is another significant step on our path to create fixed-mobile champions in all of our core markets.The tender offer will begin this month, and the deal is subject to regulatory approvals, Liberty said in its statement. Fries said he is confident, noting on a call with reporters that this is basically the exact same deal that was approved unconditionally by the regulators last year.Sunrise and Freenet said in statements that their boards unanimously supported the offer. Freenet is in line to receive 1.22 billion Swiss francs, some of which would go to pay down debt, leaving the rest for investing in the company or for potential shareholder handouts, according to the German telecommunications companys statement.What Bloomberg Intelligence Says:Liberty Globals bid for Swiss challenger Sunrise is at a relatively high price for a carrier with no fixed infrastructure, yet given the opportunity to consolidate the market, boost convergence capabilities and turnaround efforts, we believe its justified. The deal values Sunrise at 10x EVEbitda vs. 7.8x for Telefonicas U.K. unit under a JV with Virgin Media, and the 9.9x multiple for Libertys Swiss unit in Sunrises failed 2019 bid attempt.-- Erhan Gurses, BI telecom analystLiberty Globals Hefty Price for Sunrise Looks Justified: ReactEuropean telecommunications transactions have been a rare bright spot for dealmakers this year with spending up 9.1 to 37.1 billion in 2020 so far, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Malone and Fries are also working to complete the merger of Liberty Globals Virgin Media with Telefonica SAs U.K. wireless carrier O2.Malone agreed in February 2019 to sell Libertys Swiss unit, which would have raised cash to support a range of activities, including potential shareholder payouts and acquisitions in western Europe. The collapse in October of the deal, which valued UPC at 6.4 billion, was a blow to the billionaire cable mogul after his attempted purchase of Millicom International Cellular SA fell apart on price concerns earlier that year.Read more: John Malone Dealmaking Magic Meets Its Match in SwitzerlandIncluding debt, the deal values Sunrise at 6.8 billion Swiss francs, and Liberty will fund it with 3.5 billion francs of existing cash and will also issue new debt, which it says leaves it with 7 billion of liquidity. At least two-thirds of all Sunrise shares on a fully diluted basis must be tendered for the offer to go through.Fries said its not easy to predict what other previous opponents such as proxy adviser ISS will say this time around, but in our view it would be hard for them to not see the benefits here, based on comparable transactions.Sunrises previous CEO, Olaf Swantee, stepped down after the last deal fell apart. His replacement, Andre Krause, has been in the job for less than a year.The companys wireless network heavily relies on equipment from Chinas Huawei Technologies Co. Operators and governments across Europe are being pressured to ban the gear by the White House, citing security concerns. Huawei has denied these claims.When asked if he saw a risk in Sunrises reliance on Huawei and if he saw a need to diversify suppliers, Fries pointed out that Liberty is based in the U.K., not the U.S.Swiss law is going to be whats relevant for this particular outcome, he said. We have analyzed multiple outcomes on the Huawei issue and none of them have changed our interest level.Updates with context, shares and CEO quotes from second paragraphFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2020 Bloomberg L.P. 