Unity Media and Tele Columbus Complete Their Merger

Unity Media and Tele Columbus Complete Their Merger

- Major Milestone in Development of German Cable

- More Than 7 Million Customers Benefit From Cable Marriage

- Broader Product Range for Larger Customer Base

HANOVER, Germany, December 9/PRNewswire/ -- Unity Media GmbH, the largest cable television operator in the
German states of Hesse and North-Rhine Westphalia, and Tele Columbus, the
largest Network Level 4 operator in Germany, have today successfully
completed their merger. The combination creates the most dynamic German cable
business with more than 7 million subscribers.

"This merger is a major milestone in the development of German
Cable", comments Parm Sandhu, CEO of Unity Media. "It marks the
transformation of an industry defined by network separation into one that is
market and customer focused. This combination will build on the successful
integration of iesy and ish by deepening our relationships with key segments
of the market."

Says Dr. Herbert Leifker, CEO of Tele Columbus: "The merger
strengthens both our companies and puts us in an improved competitive
position. With combined strength we are able to offer our existing and new
customers the advantage of triple-play (Cable TV, Internet and VOIP) even
faster than on a stand-alone base. Our fruitful relationships with our
partners will be deepened with an even more attractive product portfolio."

Tele Columbus shareholders exchanged their shares in Tele
Columbus Kabel Holding GmbH for shares in Unity Media SCA, the Luxembourg
holding company through which Unity Media's shareholders own their interest
in the German operations. Unity Media GmbH acquired the shares in Tele
Columbus Kabel

Holding GmbH from Unity Media SCA. In connection with the
merger "Tele Columbus AG & Co. KG" was renamed "Tele Columbus GmbH & Co. KG".
Unity Media and Tele Columbus will continue to be operated as separate legal
entities, but will be managed by a unified management team with a shared
strategy. They will be headquartered in Cologne and Hanover. The two main
shareholders of the combined business will be BC Partners and Apollo with
approximately 39% and 31% of total shares, respectively. In order to align
leverage, there is deferred consideration to the sum of EUR 84m increasing by
12% p.a. non-cash.

Dr. Herbert Leifker will join Unity Media GmbH as a Managing
Director. Dr. Herbert Leifker (51) has been CEO of Tele Columbus GmbH since
1990. He became Managing Director of Tele Columbus GmbH in 1990, which he has
developed into today's Tele Columbus Group. He began his career with
Landeszentralbank NRW and as a divisional manager with Sparkasse Hildesheim.
Dr. Leifker holds a doctorate in law.

About Unity Media

Unity Media is headquartered in Cologne and is the proprietor
of the Hessian cable network operator iesy and the North Rhine-Westphalia
cable network operator ish. The two companies are the largest providers of
cable television in their respective states. In addition to analogue cable
services, ish and iesy also offer digital television, high speed Internet and
telephony. On 30 September 2005 Unity Media had approximately 5.2 million
basic cable customers, 101,100 digital TV customers, 30,300 high speed
Internet customers, and 11,500 telephone lines. More information on Unity
Media can be found at http://www.unitymedia.de

About Tele Columbus

Tele Columbus, headquartered in Hanover, is the largest NL4
operator in Germany withapproximately 2.6 million basic cable subscribers,
60,000 Digital TV subscribers, and 24,000 Internet subscribers. The Company's
core business is the distribution of cable television and radio services.
More information on Tele Columbus can be found on its website at

http://www.telecolumbus.de

Unity Media GmbH:

Investor Relations
Carla Wagner
Michael Frank
Tel +49-(0)221 / 37792-150
Investor.Relations@unitymedia.de

Contact for Journalists
Stefan Lennardt
Eva Kruger
Tel +49-(0)221 / 37792-197
presse@unitymedia.de

Tele Columbus:

Investor Relations
Ralph Poppel
Tel +49-(0)511 / 9876-932
rpoeppel@kabel-tv.de

Contact for Journalists
Matthias Levy
Tel +49-(0)30 / 88432-230
Mlevy@kabel-tv.de

Source: ish GmbH & Co. KG

Unity Media GmbH: Investor Relations, Carla Wagner, Michael Frank, Tel +49-(0)221-37792-150, Investor.Relations@unitymedia.de. Contact for Journalists, Stefan Lennardt, Eva Krüger, Tel +49-(0)221-37792-197, presse@unitymedia.de. Tele Columbus: Investor Relations, Ralph Pöppel, Tel +49-(0)511-9876-932, rpoeppel@kabel-tv.de. Contact for Journalists, Matthias Levy, Tel +49-(0)30-88432-230, Mlevy@kabel-tv.de+49-(0)30 / 88432¿230, Mlevy@kabel-tv.de

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