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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Virgin under Liberty will avoid BSkyB UK rights battle, (NASDAQ: LBTYA), (NASDAQ: VMED)

Virgin Media will steer clear of a fresh battle with Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB over expensive content like England's Premier League soccer under the ownership of Liberty Global, the U.S. company said.Billionaire John Malone's Liberty Global agreed to purchase Virgin Media late on Tuesday for about $15.75 billion in stock and cash, pitting Malone against his old rival Murdoch in the British pay-TV and broadband market.Virgin Media, which has 4.9 million customers against BSkyB's 10.7 million, was formed by a merger of cable groups Telewest and NTL and mobile telecoms operator Virgin Mobile in 2006. The merger was led by Virgin Group's Richard Branson, who still owns around 3 percent.Virgin Media's first few years were marred by lengthy and costly legal fights with BSkyB over access to channels and content.

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 remained unchanged at $67.88. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $44.87 and as high as $70.65. On average, 1445250 shares of LBTYA exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 0.

Virgin Media Inc. is engaged in entertainment and communications business. Shares of VMED remained unchanged at $45.61. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $21.25 and as high as $46.43. On average, 3366860 shares of VMED exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 0.



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