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U.K. cable bidders line up
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July 16, 1999: 3:36 a.m. ET
Report: Microsoft may lend weight to Telewest's bid for CWC assets
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Microsoft may throw its financial weight behind the emerging bid battle for key assets in Britain's Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), according to a report published Friday.
U.K. market leader Telewest will be backed by the software giant or Liberty Media, or both, in its the planned bid for the residential cable assets of CWC, people familiar with the negotiations told Bloomberg.
Microsoft (MSFT) and Englewood, Colorado-based Liberty Media are principal shareholders in Telewest, which faces stiff competition from U.K. number two NTL for the CWC business.
The rival bids could be launched as early as Friday, ahead of a CWC board meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
France Telecom entered the fray Thursday, paying $1 billion for a 10 percent stake in NTL and effectively underwriting NTL's expected 8 million pound ($12.6 billion) cash and stock bid for the CWC residential business, which accounts for about a quarter of the company's total sales.
Telewest has been in talks with CWC since April, but with financial firepower from Microsoft or Liberty, it could fend off NTL.
A deal would be one of the last acts in the consolidation of the U.K. cable industry, which now has only three major participants, down from more than a dozen.
Shares in London-listed CWC jumped 3.4 percent to 720 pence by Thursday's close.
CWC, whose principal shareholders are Cable & Wireless (CW.) and Bell Atlantic, is the U.K.'s third-biggest cable operator.
Cable & Wireless is also seeking to sell its One2One cellular venture, jointly-owned with MediaOne. However, the initial five bidders for the unit have all balked at the asking price, leaving Cable & Wireless to consider a flotation of the company.
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