Same place, different view

9 June 2005 By Mike Verdin

The fear is that the cable operator will overpay for its rival. It will certainly need to find huge synergies to make the deal stack up. But that won t worry many of NTL s biggest shareholders, since they also happen to be among the biggest shareholders in Telewest.

This content is for Subscribers only

Context News

Telewest has appointed NM Rothschild to advise on longstanding plans to merge with NTL, the rival cable operator, raising hopes that the deal is close to being sealed. A merger between the two companies, which have complementary geographic coverage, would allow significant synergy savings.

Shares in Telewest, the smaller of the two companies, have risen by more than one quarter in the last six months. Stock in NTL has fallen by nearly 10%.

The companies have the same major shareholders – Fidelity Management & Research, WR Huff Asset Management, Oaktree Capital Management and Franklin Mutual Advisors.

Email a friend

Please complete the form below.

Required fields *