Liberty Global’s $ 15.8 b Virgin Media deal cleared in EU

REUTERS: U.S. cable firm Liberty Global won unconditional EU regulatory approval on Monday for its US$ 15.8 billion takeover of Virgin Media, a deal which pits the group against Rupert Murdoch’s British satellite TV operation BSkyB. The European Commission said it did not have any competition concerns regarding the takeover, confirming a Reuters report last week.

The EU antitrust authority said this was because the companies operated cable networks in different EU countries and because of the merged group’s limited market position in wholesale TV channels in Britain and Ireland.  The companies valued the deal at US$ 15.8 billion on 6 February, the day it was announced.