* C&W to buy Columbus International for $1.85 bln
* Cable TV mogul John Malone to own abt 13 pct of C&W
* C&W posts first revenue growth since 2010
* Shares fall 6 pct (Adds CEO comment, analysts, shares)
By Paul Sandle
LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Cable & Wireless Communications has agreed a deal to buy Columbus International, afibre-based telecoms provider backed by cable TV billionaireJohn Malone, for $1.85 billion to boost its mobile, fixed line,broadband and TV offer in the Caribbean.
London-listed C&W, which sold its operations in Monaco andMacau in the past two years, said the deal would accelerate itspush into multiple services, particularly with Malone on board.
Malone, chairman of cable group Liberty Global,will own about 13 percent of C&W after the acquisition.Privately owned Columbus's other major stakeholders areco-founders John Risley and Brendan Paddick, who will alsobecome C&W shareholders.
C&W Chief Executive Phil Bentley said that Columbus wouldinject "state-of-the-art TV and broadband technology" into C&W.
"We will have the premier mobile network, the best fibrenetwork and the best backhaul submarine networks (which supportdata capacity) across the region," he said on Thursday.
C&W, which has operations in Panama, the Seychelles and theCaribbean, will assume Columbus's debt, which was $1.17 billionat June 30, and issue nearly 10 percent of its equity in newshares to fund the deal's $707.5 million cash element.
Analysts at Espirito Santo said the multiple C&W is paying,of about 12.3 times core earnings before cost savings, lookshigh.
Bentley, however, said that Columbus's growth rate wouldreduce that to about 10 times by the time the deal closed nextMarch. Including the boost to earnings from expected costsavings, the multiple would drop to about eight, he added.
By comparison, Orange sold its Dominican Republicbusiness last year at an earnings multiple of about eight times.
"For a quality set of assets this is a great deal," Bentleysaid.
SHARES DROP
The market appeared less convinced. Shares in C&W, whichsaid the deal would be earnings neutral in the first year afteracquisition and add to earnings after that, were down a shadeless than 6 percent at 46 pence by 1236 GMT.
Analysts at Jefferies said the deal would accelerate C&W'spush into multiple services under its Project Marlin plan.
"Acquiring Columbus International should allow C&W to reachthe end-game that Marlin was intended to deliver faster and withless execution risk," they said.
Columbus, which provides triple-play cable TV, telephony andbroadband over its own fibre optic network in the Caribbean, hasabout 700,000 residential customers.
It also provides backhaul connectivity to 42 countries inthe region, as well as capacity and IT services, corporate datasolutions and data centre services in South and Central America.
Separately, C&W said that its first-half revenue rose forthe first time since the group was demerged from the formerCable & Wireless in 2010. Demand for mobile broadband helped tolift revenue by 1 percent to $848 million and its core earningsby 5 percent to $277 million.
The company added that it expects growth to accelerate inthe second half.
(Editing by David Goodman)
