Virgin to be swallowed by mystery investors?
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007Cable company set for yet another takeover
Virgin Media hit the headlines again this week, amid speculation that the cable network, already fresh from one merger, was considering a takeover from a private equity group.
Virgin have confirmed it has received a takeover approach from an anonymous buyer and that it is considering a potential sale, but have kept schtum as to who the buyer is, although it has been suggested that private equity group Carlyle are the mystery potential investors. A takeover by Carlyle would also make sense, as the group also owns the US cable network Insight, and so could help to patch up some of the technical problems which have plagued the NTL side of the network.
The group have reportedly made an offer of more than £5.5 billion for Virgin Media, who are said to be enthusiastic about the idea of a takeover, which would enable them to patch up their current net loss, and hire more staff for the customer service department of their broadband arm of quad play services.
The takeover would, hopefully, see Virgin have an increased spending for the up and coming Virgin 1 channel, the budget for which is currently dwarfed by that of Sky One, although sceptics have said that the deal may simply result in a golden handshake for a few, and any benefits of a takeover would not filter down to the consumer base.
Virgin Media might not want to go through with a deal before the multiple court proceedings concerning them and Sky have been finished, as after receiving a fresh injection of cash, Sky could argue that Virgin could then afford their carriage fees and the case could fall through.
June 28th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
I can’t wait for Virgin One, hopefully it’ll more than replace Sky One.
Only watched Sky One for the Simpsons and Lost, and there won’t be any new episodes for a while now. So I’m not missing out.
June 28th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
I agree with you Dan. It’s got the grounding from the films so the Terminator shows should be good.
I’m a massive fan of Lost and can’t wait to see the new series. Noticed that it will end in 2010 with another 3 series to come.
July 2nd, 2007 at 3:48 pm
I’ve been wanting to leave Virgin ever since the whole Sky thing. I don’t really think that this new channel and rumours of a sports news bulletin is going to cut it for a lot of customers - it certainly doesnt for me.
I’m waiting until Tiscali/Homechoice becomes available in my area, then I’m switching.
It just so happens that Tiscali have managed to work out a deal with Sky which will allow me to watch Sky One…
Ho hum Virgin.