Is Liberty Global stalking Vodafone?

vodafone shares
Vodafone shares have surged this week based on takeover talk.

Shares in British telecoms group Vodafone have surged by roughly 11% in London in the past three days as investors get excited by takeover talk.

Media mogul John Malone told Bloomberg earlier this week a tie-up between Vodafone (VOD) and his cable company, Liberty Global, would be a "great fit."

Neither company would comment on the speculation but analysts said a merger could work.

Vodafone shares gained 4.9% on Friday, taking the stock to a 14-year high and helping London's FTSE100 index to outperform other European indexes.

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"A potentially integrated Vodafone-Liberty Global could be well placed to leverage investments and drive higher growth and returns," Barclays analysts said in a research note.

They said the deal could lead to $20 billion of potential synergies.

Vodafone is the world's second largest provider of mobile phone services. The U.K.-based company operates in 26 countries and has 444 million customers.

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