MADRID (Reuters) - Two former Virgin Media executives are close to buying the Spanish telecommunications group Telecable from private equity firm Carlyle (O:CG) for 650 million euros ($714 million), Sky News reported on Saturday, citing unnamed sources.
Telecable, based in the northern region of Asturias, is the last independent cable telecoms company in Spain, following Euskaltel's (MC:EKTL) offer for R Cable on Thursday, after a wave of consolidation in the industry.
Zegona (L:ZEG), an investment vehicle that listed on the London Stock Exchange's junior market earlier this year, was set up by Eamonn O'Hare, Virgin Media's former chief financial officer, and Robert Samuelson, another former Virgin executive.
A statement about the deal may be made to the stock exchange as early as Monday, sources told Sky News. Neither Zegona nor Carlyle was immediately available for comment on Sunday.
Basque-country-based Euskaltel said on Thursday it had agreed an offer for fellow cable company R Cable, giving it an enterprise value of 1.2 billion euros.
Tough competition and falling prices during a recession have driven multi-billion takeover deals in Spain. France's Orange (PA:ORAN) bought telecoms group Jazztel in September and Vodafone (L:VOD) bought cable operator Ono in March.