John Malone's cable group Liberty Global has approached Britain's No. 2 pay-TV operator Virgin Media about making a bid for the firm, the UK group said on Tuesday.Virgin Media, which has a market value of $10.6 billion, was formed by the merger of cable groups Telewest and NTL and mobile operator Virgin Mobile. It sells cable TV, telephony and broadband and competes with market leader BSkyB, part owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp."Virgin Media confirms that it is in discussions with Liberty Global, a leading international cable company, concerning a possible transaction," it said in a brief statement. "Any such transaction would be subject to regulatory and other conditions."Virgin spent the first few years of its existence being drawn into repeated spats with Murdoch's BSkyB over the ownership and sale of exclusive content. However under Chief Executive Neil Berkett, the group moved away from that approach to slowly build the customer base and pay down debt.
Liberty Global, Inc. (LGI) is an international provider of video, broadband Internet and telephony services, with broadband communications and/or direct-to-home satellite (DTH) operations, As of December 31, 2011, the Company was serving 19. Shares of LBTYA fell by 1.45% or $-1.02/share to $69.46. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $44.87 and as high as $70.65. On average, 1386550 shares of LBTYA exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1237419.
Market Leader, Inc., online technology and marketing solutions for real estate professionals across the United States and Canada. Shares of LEDR fell by 5.08% or $-0.4/share to $7.48. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $3.07 and as high as $7.94. On average, 74989 shares of LEDR exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 126795.
News Corporation is a diversified global media company. Shares of NWSA fell by 0.75% or $-0.21/share to $27.94. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $13.55 and as high as $24.04. On average, 19309000 shares of NWSA exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 17848472.
Virgin Media Inc. is engaged in entertainment and communications business. Shares of VMED fell by 2.37% or $-0.94/share to $38.69. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $21.25 and as high as $40.25. On average, 2687320 shares of VMED exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 4366972.
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