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MSFT cable deal probed
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March 22, 2000: 7:58 a.m. ET
EU antitrust officials extend review of planned $3B Telewest purchase
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LONDON (CNNfn) - European Union antitrust regulators said on Wednesday they would extend their probe into Microsoft's planned acquisition of a stake in U.K. cable firm Telewest Communications.
Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) announced plans last May to pay about $3 billion in stock for the 29.7 percent stake in Telewest owned by MediaOne Group following the U.S. firm's acquisition by AT&T (T: Research, Estimates). The telecom firm's Liberty Media unit is already a shareholder in Telewest, Britain's second-largest cable operator after Nasdaq-listed NTL (NTLI: Research, Estimates).
The European Commission, the Brussels-based executive arm of the European Union, said it would launch a four-month probe into the transaction, a move that normally signals that it has concerns that a deal will damage competition, possibly with the result that the Commission seeks concessions such as asset sales from the parties.
"We will make a detailed assessment of the impact on competition in the various digital and cable sectors, and more particularly the provision of software for set-top boxes in the U.K. and the impact on the choice for British cable subscribers," said EU competition commissioner Mario Monti.
Telewest is in the process of merging with U.K. content provider Flextech. Microsoft planned to use the company's customer base of 1.4 million homes to provide software for set-top boxes for the new generation of digital television, which Telewest rolled out last year.
Telewest (TWT) shares were little changed at 417 pence after the announcement, after earlier rising as high as 440 pence. Both companies were unavailable for comment.
Microsoft is already under investigation by the EU over the impact of its new Windows 2000 operating system, which bundles computer server capabilities with the software. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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