Buyout firms set their eye on Virgin Media - Page 11

sollp · 15-07-2007, 22:58

Correct me if i'm wrong, but i think Branson has a 30yr contract for the,(or whatever it's called) for Virginmedia name. So if i'm not wrong the company will have to be called Virginmedia for the duration regardless of who takes over?

popper · 19-07-2007, 12:25

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/mai...nvirgin119.xml
"
US buy-out fund weighs up bid for Virgin Media
By Mark Kleinman
Last Updated: 1:55am BST 19/07/2007

TPG, the US buy-out fund, is considering tuning in to the $23bn (Ã‚Â£11.2bn) auction of Virgin Media, the troubled pay-television operator, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

The private equity group is understood to have contacted Virgin Media's lead adviser, Goldman Sachs, to indicate its interest in participating in the likely sale of the New York-listed company.

People close to the situation said yesterday that TPG was still in the early stages of deciding whether to bid.

TPG's emergence as a possible suitor for Virgin Media comes as some prospective bidders seek an extension to an informal deadline for indicative offers amid the downturn in the international credit markets.

People involved in the auction said last night that the difficulty of securing robust financing packages as banks reconsidered funding commitments to buy-out firms could mean a delay to the auction process.

Virgin Media, which has struggled since it was formed from the combination of NTL, Telewest and Virgin Mobile, is expecting bidders to make their intentions known before the middle of August.

Some of the dozen or so private equity firms to have registered an interest are thought to have asked for that deadline to be extended as they attempt to negotiate financing commitments to bid for Britain's biggest rival in pay-television to BSkyB.

The crunch in the credit markets has left banks with a severe headache as they look to syndicate billions of dollars of debt taken on as part of the buy-out binge which has gripped British and US markets in recent months......"

---------- Post added at 12:25 ---------- Previous post was at 12:20 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by sollp

Correct me if i'm wrong, but i think Branson has a 30yr contract for the,(or whatever it's called) for Virginmedia name. So if i'm not wrong the company will have to be called Virginmedia for the duration regardless of who takes over?

perhaps average people are loosing interest in this now?.

anyway to answer your question , i seem to remember that there is a clause in the current contract that says they can take an option to drop it after 10 years, but there will also probably be an option to pay some more upfront and get rid earlyer if they really want to, at least it was speculated thats what one of the new potential buyers were hoping to work out after looking at the contracts...

darkm · 20-07-2007, 10:27

i just hope chorus dont bid for VM, there customer service record is terrible in the south of ireland

Mr Angry · 22-07-2007, 19:29

And.........they're off!!!

Toto · 22-07-2007, 19:41

Wonder what Goldman Sachs have valued VM's shares at?

Taf · 25-07-2007, 11:18

Oh oh....

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/ne...cle2796383.ece

I can't wait to see the eBay listing !

sollp · 25-07-2007, 19:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taf

Oh oh....

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/ne...cle2796383.ece

I can't wait to see the eBay listing !

It says in that, that the Carlyle group would consider selling off The flextech and Virgin mobile arm, yes it would raise needed money straight away but surely in the long run this has got to be a money earner for Virgin,(or whoever the cable company is called). I just can't see the logic sometimes apart from a fast buck. Yet again the company will rely on efficiencies/cost-cutting, which basically mean spending as little money on the network and getting rid of more people, yet again this company will not move forward as it needs investment in all areas to gain any hope of competing with BT and Sky.

Even if these aren't sold there is still much needed investment and proper direction from the so called Directors and managers.

popper · 26-07-2007, 04:59

it might have some interesting info in this one when it appears.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/pro...725&ID=7226480
"Virgin Media Notification of Second Quarter 2007 Results

LONDON, July 25, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Virgin Media (Nasdaq:VMED) will be announcing its Second Quarter 2007 results on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at 9am UK time, 4am ET. The company will host a conference call for analysts and investors to discuss these results on August 8, at 2pm UK time, 9am ET.
Conference Call-In Information "

willas00 · 27-07-2007, 23:42

So is Virgin Media being sold? If so what does this mean for the customers?

buckleb · 27-07-2007, 23:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by willas00

So is Virgin Media being sold? If so what does this mean for the customers?

There's a lot of uncertainty in the Private Equity world at the moment, so the takeover is not a done deal by any means. Having said that, I'd be very surprised if the cashflow and debt situation in VM didn't attract a fair number of suitors.

In the short term it wouldn't affect customers at all. Long term prospects depend on whether the PE firm is looking to asset strip or build value.

VM employees are the ones that have a pretty uncertain future. Once the top brass have bailed out (after cashing in on their share options and with golden handshakes no doubt) the staff will be at the mercy of the new owners. Employee numbers have been cut quite a lot in recent years, so I'm not sure there is any slack left to take up, but it must still be a worry for those working there.

Anyway, I'm waffling now

sollp · 28-07-2007, 20:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by cadire

There's a lot of uncertainty in the Private Equity world at the moment, so the takeover is not a done deal by any means. Having said that, I'd be very surprised if the cashflow and debt situation in VM didn't attract a fair number of suitors.

In the short term it wouldn't affect customers at all. Long term prospects depend on whether the PE firm is looking to asset strip or build value.

VM employees are the ones that have a pretty uncertain future. Once the top brass have bailed out (after cashing in on their share options and with golden handshakes no doubt) the staff will be at the mercy of the new owners. Employee numbers have been cut quite a lot in recent years, so I'm not sure there is any slack left to take up, but it must still be a worry for those working there.

Anyway, I'm waffling now

Yep, yet another bar to my 90days medal, there still plenty of duplicate jobs i bet, but as usual it will be down to good old networks bearing the brunt.