(Telecompaper) Vodafone and Liberty Global have reached an agreement on a 50-50 joint venture in the Netherlands. Vodafone will pay Liberty Global EUR 1 billion cash as part of the deal and contribute its Dutch mobile operator on a debt- and cash-free basis to the venture, alongside Liberty's cable operator Ziggo. Pending regulatory approval, the companies expect to close the deal by the end of 2016. The merger is expected to lead to synergies of EUR 3.5 billion, including EUR 280 million in annual cost savings from the fifth year of the merger. The joint venture will target a leverage of 4.5-5.0 times EBITDA, based on Ziggo's current EUR 7.3 billion in debt. The merger will create a completely integrated fixed and mobile player, competing alongside Dutch incumbent KPN.