KABEL DEUTSCHLAND ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF THREE REGIONAL CABLE NETWORK OPERATORS CREATING PAN-GERMAN CABLE TV BUSINESS

Unterfoehring, Germany 04.04.2004 (PROTEXT/ots) - * Combination of Kabel Deutschland with networks in NorthRhine Westphalia, Hesse and Baden-Wuerttemberg will createcustomer base of more than 17 million, the largest in Europe. * Combined businesses will focus on roll-out of new, efficientdigital TV services. Digital roll-out expected to stimulate thecreation of a wide variety of new programs and provide greaterchoice for customers * Investments of approximately Euro 500 million in plant,equipment and new services planned over the next three years Kabel Deutschland GmbH today announced that it will acquirethe three regional level 3 cable network operators in NorthRhine-Westphalia, Baden- Wuerttemberg and Hesse, for a combinedconsideration of approximately Euro 2.7 bn. The combination of the companies ish (Cologne), Kabel Baden-Wuerttemberg (Heidelberg) and iesy (Frankfurt) with KabelDeutschland will increase the company's customer base to morethan 17 million homes connected. In three separate agreements, Kabel Deutschland agreed toacquire 100 percent of each of the remaining, non-overlappinglevel 3 CATV businesses in Germany: ish (4 million customers),Kabel Baden Wuerttemberg (2.3 million customers) and iesy (1.25million customers). Completion of the acquisitions is subjectto approval by the relevant regulatory authorities. Following a successful combination of the three regionalcompanies, Kabel Deutschland will operate the level 3 cablenetworks in all 16 German federal states. This will supportKabel Deutschland's planned rollout of digital TV services. Investments of Euro 500 mill planned over next three years The creation of a countrywide network will make it possible toroll-out digital TV services across Germany using a singletechnological platform and an open set-top box standard acrossall 16 federal states, resulting in lower overall consumer cost.It is also expected, over time, to result in the creation of newproduct offerings from the content industry including movie,sport, news, special interest and general entertainment channels.Kabel Deutschland plans to invest approximately Euro 500 millionin equipment and new services over the next three years tosupport its current and future product offerings. Theseinvestments will further increase the attractiveness of KabelDeutschland's services relative to competing satellite, digitalterrestrial and internet based platforms. "With these acquisitions, we are building an excellentplatform for the roll- out of digital cable TV and new multimediaproducts in Germany that are already available in many othermajor European markets such as the UK, France, Italy and Spain",said Roland Steindorf, Kabel Deutschland's chief executive. "Thiswill stimulate significant growth and expansion for both themedia and consumer electronics industry in Germany. Also, thepan-German network will support an open set-top box standardwhich provides immediate access to the digital channelscurrently being produced by ARD and ZDF." Regional Structures will be maintained Following the acquisitions, Kabel Deutschland will maintainthe regional structure of its operations and the local presenceof the acquired businesses. Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank acted as financial advisors toKabel Deutschland. Kabel Deutschland Kabel Deutschland (KDG) is the largest cable network operatorin Europe, connecting 10 million households in thirteen Germanstates. KDG manages the network infrastructure, is responsiblefor the marketing of cable access, as well as other relatedservices, and develops new digital TV and high-speed internetservices. The company's digital TV service provides a platformthat is open to all content providers. In 2003, KDG was acquiredfrom Deutsche Telekom by a consortium of financial investorscomprised of Apax Partners, Providence Equity Partners andGoldman Sachs Capital Partners. ish ish was established in 2000 and is based in Cologne. Itoperates North Rhine- Westphalia's cable network, employs a staffof 900 and has approximately 4 million customers. Theshareholders are 22 banks including Citigroup and Deutsche Bank. Kabel BW The company has 2.3 million customers in Baden-Wuerttembergand employs approximately 500 staff. It is owned by a group offinancial investors lead by The Blackstone Group, CDP Capital-Communications and Banc of America Equity Partners. iesy Hessen The company operates in Hesse and has 1.25 million customerswith 280 employees. It is majority-owned by private equityfirms Apollo, Pequot and Golden Tree. ots Original Text Service: Kabel Deutschland Media Contact: Roland Klein, +44-777 6162 997 Stefan Schott,+49-151 1224 16 32

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