Liberty Global's $22.5 bn Virgin Media deal gets EU green light

US cable firm Liberty Global Inc on Monday received regulatory approval from the European Commission for its 17.2 billion euros ($22.5 billion) acquisition of Virgin Media Inc, the UK's second largest pay-TV operator.

The unqualified EU approval for Virgin Media acquisition means US billionaire John Malone's Liberty Global will now be pitted against Rupert Murdoch's British satellite TV operation BSkyB.

The EU regulators, however, said since the companies operated cable networks in different EU countries and since the merged company has limited market position, they do not have any competition concerns regarding the takeover.

The EC said its investigation ''confirmed that the transaction would not raise competition concerns, in particular because the parties operate cable networks in different member states and because of the merged entity's limited market position in the wholesale of TV channels in the UK and Ireland.''

The companies had originally valued the deal at $15.8 billion on 6 February, when the deal was announced.

Liberty already operates in 10 European Union states, including Ireland, but not the UK. Virgin is the second largest pay-TV operator in the UK where it competes, notably, with the News Corp-controlled Sky.

The EC said the combined group ''would still face sufficient competitive constraint from other players.''

The acquisition is expected to be finalised in the second quarter of this year.

Liberty Global had in March acquired a 12.65 per cent stake in Dutch cable TV operator Ziggo NV from Barclays Capital Securities Limited, for a total investment of approximately €632.5 million.

Virgin Media, meanwhile, will report its latest results next week while Liberty Media Corporation will release its first quarter earnings on 8 May.

Liberty Media owns interests in a broad range of media, communications and entertainment businesses, including its subsidiaries SiriusXM, Atlanta National League Baseball Club, Inc and TruePosition Inc, its interests in Live Nation Entertainment and Barnes & Noble, and minority equity investments in Time Warner Inc. and Viacom.

Virgin Media Inc provides television, broadband internet and fixed and mobile telephone services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom.