EU antitrust regulators are expected to clear a $15.8 billion takeover bid by U.S. cable group Liberty Global for British peer Virgin Media without requiring concessions, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday. "The European Commission does not have any competition concerns about the deal," one of the sources said.The European Union competition authority is set to announce its decision by April 15. Antoine Colombani, Commission spokesman for competition policy, and Virgin Media declined to comment.The deal is set to pit Liberty Global controlling shareholder and U.S. billionaire John Malone against Rupert Murdoch, owner of British satellite group BSkyB in the fast-developing European cable market.The $15.8 billion value of the deal was the implied price on Feb. 6, the day it was announced.
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 $73.98. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $44.87 and as high as $75.63. On average, 3034490 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 $49.32. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $21.25 and as high as $50.06. On average, 8216690 shares of VMED exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 0.
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