LONDON - Liberty Global, the U.S. cable company owned by John Malone, is discussions to buy the British cable company Virgin Media, Virgin said on Tuesday.
Shares in Virgin Media, which was formed through several mergers of small British cable companies, rose more than 14 percent in early morning trading in London on Thursday. The company’s current market capitalization stands at $10.4 billion.
In a brief statement, Virgin Media said that is was in discussions with Liberty Global, which has operations in 13 countries around the world.
“Any such transaction would be subject to regulatory and other conditions,†Virgin Media said in a statement.
