LONDON â€" Liberty Global, the media company controlled by John C. Malone, is in talks to buy the Dutch cable operator Ziggo, the European company said in a brief statement on Thursday.
The announcement comes after Ziggo, the largest provider of cable television services in the Netherlands, rejected a previous approach in October from Liberty Global, which already has operations across Europe.
The Dutch company had said the initial offer had been “inadequate,†but did not disclose the financial terms.
“Further announcements will be made if and when relevant,†Ziggo said in a short statement on Thursday. “There is no certainty that any agreement can be reached or that any offer will ultimately be made. â€
Any potential deal would be the latest in a string of acquisitions in the European telecommunications and cable industry.
Liberty Global, which owns the second largest cable operator in Germany, bought the British cable operator Virgin Media for $16 billion earlier this year, while the British cellphone company Vodafone also acquired the German cable firm Kabel Deutschland for around $10 billion.
The disclosure that Ziggo is in discussions with Liberty Global over a potential deal led the company’s share price to rise by almost 7 percent in morning trading in Amsterdam on Thursday. The Dutch cable operator currently has a market value of 6.6 billion euros, or $9.1 billion.
Liberty Global already owns UPC Netherlands, the country’s second largest operator, and the company may face regulatory issues if it acquires Ziggo and its more than 2 million domestic customers.
The Dutch cable operator was previously owned by a consortium of private equity firms, including Warburg Pincus and Cinven, and became a public company last year through an initial public offer in 2012 that raised almost $1 billion.
Representatives for Liberty Global and Ziggo declined to comment on Thursday.
