Cable company, NTL, and one of its largest shareholders, France Telecom, are in talks with AOL Time Warner, Liberty Media and Microsoft about further investment in the group, according to a report in today’s Financial Times.
The paper says that NTL and France Telecom have also spoken to French media group Vivendi Universal, but that it was the least interested of the parties involved.
France Telecom holds an 18% stake in NTL. Losses at the group increased by a third in its Q3 results, released in November 2001 (see NTL Reports 33% Increase In Losses As Results Fall In Line With Forecasts). Pre-tax losses grew to £713 million, whilst the company struggles with a £70 million increase in interest repayments on its £11.8 billion debt.
The FT says that none of the parties has decided whether it will buy equity in NTL or pay off debt. Both Microsoft and Liberty Media have stakes in the UK’s other main cable operator, Telewest Communications. Liberty is thought to be keen to replicate its cable success in the US across Europe.
