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News > International
Microsoft buys Telewest stake
May 6, 1999: 9:30 a.m. ET

U.S. firm acquires 30% of U.K. cable operator from MediaOne; stock soars
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LONDON (CNNfn) - U.K. cable operator Telewest soared 18 percent in London Thursday after Microsoft Corp. said it is buying a 29.9 percent stake in the company from MediaOne.
     Telewest stock rocketed 45 pence higher to 284 pence on the news, which sparked hopes of an outright bid for the U.K.'s second-largest cable network operator. Telewest, a member of the benchmark FTSE 100 index, is valued at some 6.1 billion pounds ($10 billion).
     "Microsoft's been sniffing around [the U.K. cable industry] for ages," one senior industry executive said.
     Takeover speculation has swirled around Telewest for some time. The company is in strategic talks with Britain's biggest cable TV company, Cable & Wireless Communications (CWZ). CWC is part of Cable & Wireless (CW.).
     Microsoft now is sure of a pivotal role in the development of cable TV in the United Kingdom because it owns a $500 million stake in NTL, Britain's third major cable network operator.
     Telewest said it "welcomed Microsoft as a new shareholder," but wouldn't comment on what the new shareholder arrangement will mean for its talks with CWC. Back to top

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.