Buyout firms set their eye on Virgin Media

[Web-Junkie]

The proposal also states that it will be withdrawn if its terms are publicly disclosed.

PLEASE someone publicly disclose those terms QUICKLY!

Originally Posted by Safeman

lets all prey and hope it goes truw and we might get some good speeds Edit - Derek S : Do NOT post anything like that again

Old saying better the devil you know than you do not know.It Might be worse
than it is with virgin .Which on the whole if find them Pretty good most of the time.

---------- Post added at 19:56 ---------- Previous post was at 19:53 ----------

Originally Posted by Web-Junkie

The proposal also states that it will be withdrawn if its terms are publicly disclosed.

PLEASE someone publicly disclose those terms QUICKLY!

did not see your post before , know any moles

[popper]

Originally Posted by Web-Junkie

The proposal also states that it will be withdrawn if its terms are publicly disclosed.

PLEASE someone publicly disclose those terms QUICKLY!

given the record of carlyle, its not vey likely they would walk away, but even then, that still leaves the likes of Providence Equity Partners Inc or one/several of the others lineing up for the bidding.

this sale must have been kicking around the VM boardroom for a while now as 'Bill Huff, the influential New Jersey hedge fund owner. Today Mr Huff is far lower down the group’s share register, with only 4.9 per cent'. selling off a lot of his shares, bet he's kicking himself now though, thats a lot of extra cashflow he could have made in profit.

http://www.moneyweb.co.za/mw/view/mw...4420&sn=Detail
"In response to Carlyle's approach, Virgin Media has asked Goldman Sachs Inc., its adviser, to start to run an auction to see if there is interest from other potential bidders, people familiar with the matter said."

---------- Post added at 20:58 ---------- Previous post was at 20:41 ----------

given we know how NTL:tw worked their long time advantage in to the ground by not leading the real STB innovation etc, and didnt so far, see fit to use AVC and multicasting IPTV etc, (never mind using the up and coming WiMax as a new delivery system and include it as a standard in any new advanced STB) to their benefits, its unlikely to change over night, but heres one of the reasons restated as to why the big money boys are coming to play in the UK and EU.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/sto...116755,00.html
"...

Virgin Media has also built up its offering in video on demand, signing more content deals and launching the Virgin Central channel as a portal for some of that content.

In fact this is the key to what private equity hopes to get out of Virgin in the long term.

On-demand viewing is likely to eventually dominate the way people consume content.

Channels will become less important than individual programmes; owning content and having the best distribution system for it will become the crucial parts of the TV business.

Virgin's advantage over Sky is that cable provides a superior means of distribution to the latter's combination of satellite and broadband.
The question is: how much of an advantage does that represent, and is it enough to pose any threat to Sky?"...

[gadge]

Originally Posted by sav112

As much as VM forums deserves you monkey Boy…..

Well happy with my SkyTV switch from Virgin, I can’t believe I was lazy and kept my analogue rubbish for the time that I did. I actually watch the TV now as opposed to coming in on say Tuesday to watch one thing…..

But I have to say, I’ll probably swap to BT if what looks like the case VM has been a cash cow for investers.

So has VM been a failure?

Yea right there are some decent people on these forums who have either virgin or sky or both like myself who has freesat aswell you wont get very far by calling virgin customers vm monkeys thats what i was stating no need for rudeness to myself or other good people on these forums nuff said.

[9083]

Looks like i'll be hanging my VM uniform next to my Nynex-C&W-NTL ones.

Just had my van logo'd as well.

Money well spent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Juan90]

Originally Posted by popper

Virgin's advantage over Sky is that cable provides a superior means of distribution to the latter's combination of satellite and broadband.

Be even better if it worked......

Another happy VM customer.

[popper]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/6a740a22-28d...b5df10621.html
"
Branson making his private equity mark

By Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson in London
Published: July 2 2007 20:32 | Last updated: July 2 2007 20:32


In just 18 months, Sir Richard Branson has parlayed a stake in the UK’s fifth-largest mobile phone group into a pivotal role in one of Europe’s largest private equity deals.

By selling Virgin Mobile to the newly-merged NTL Telewest group last year, he realised his long-held ambition of breaking into television, while securing an agreement from Virgin Media to pay him at least £8.5m a year to use the Virgin brand name.


Now, as the largest shareholder in the renamed Virgin Media, Sir Richard faces the option of locking in a rapid profit on his 10.1 per cent stake – potentially now worth more than $1bn (£498m) – or choosing to remain an investor alongside new private equity owners.

Virgin Group collected £123.4m in cash and 34.3m shares for its 71.2 per cent stake in Virgin Mobile last year and struck a deal giving it 0.25 per cent of Virgin Media’s consumer revenues a year, or at least £8.5m, for 30 years, with a break clause after 10 years.

Last month, Sir Richard raised a further $225m through a derivative transaction to fund Virgin projects in space travel, mobile phone operations in Asia and renewable energy investments.

He also secured senior positions in the new company for some of his most trusted executives, hoping to bring Virgin’s marketing expertise to an industry suffering from a well-earned reputation for poor customer service"
..
"
Sir Richard, who has shown little taste for the public markets, is understood to be supportive of the proposal to take Virgin Media private, but has yet to begin negotiations with Carlyle or any other bidder.

However, the importance of the Virgin brand to the cable group is likely to put him in a uniquely powerful negotiating position if and when those discussions begin. "

Originally Posted by 9083

Looks like i'll be hanging my VM uniform next to my Nynex-C&W-NTL ones.

Just had my van logo'd as well.

Money well spent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wonder what name will be on your uniform and van next year,?

[ginge51]

just hope no more caps come into account if there is more caps the exit is that way
<<<<<<<

[sav112]

Originally Posted by gadge

Yea right there are some decent people on these forums who have either virgin or sky or both like myself who has freesat aswell you wont get very far by calling virgin customers vm monkeys thats what i was stating no need for rudeness to myself or other good people on these forums nuff said.

I’m a VM customer!

Nuff said!

But getting back to views that are actually interesting. I can honestly say to the people with the CS comments. I have never had a problem with them they have always been first rate, sorted out or answered my inquires.

Just hope if a new company forms the prices don’t go up and the service which at my end and for a good few other has degraded over the
last few months does not improve!

[mick094m]

All this talk of take overs and buyouts has anyone wondered how much MURDOCH has to do with it .......I wonder how much money he has tied up in these venture firms.......to do his "dirty work" for him.........seems to have taken the heat away from and the Virgin media problem wit his Sky company I am wondering if he is waiting in the wings ready to swoop when any asset stripping takes place........I don't trust him or any of these American or Foreign Companies that are picking up "cheaply" any business that are being run in this Country,it is about time someone put a stop to these preditors...then I suppose they all in the same club dishing out the dividends between them I like the remark in an earlier thread about Bush getting a job out of it wonder if Blair will be his Number 2 had a lot of practice the two of them with Media hype in the past so should slot in ok.

[12noon]

From my point of view i hope any new company that does get involved doesn't start removing tv channels and doesn't put any restrictions on broadband. I also don't want the price that i pay for the service i get to go up.

If possible i would like them to keep the virgin media name and not mess around too much with the tv menu system. I've got used to the tv menu and wouldn't like it to get worse.

Apart from that, any added HD or normal tv channels would be welcome. but i don't want to pay extra for them.

BTW i have VM phone, cable modem broadband, VM tv (up stairs) and VM V+ (down stairs). My wife also has a VM mobile phone.

[Nedkelly]

Would this be a good thing or a bad thing for 1 the customer 2 the staff .At the moment no one knows what is going on now everyone is fearing job cuts assit stripping .The cable industry needs stability in the uk it seems evry few years it gets thrown around and then trys to start again with the debts from the last lot .If this was t go ahead would they invest in finishing the network / expanding it ? I just wish they would sort it out and leave it alone and let it get on what ever or who ever owns it .Any rich arabs like to own a company ? This is going to go on and on for months who will i work for next year ?

[RXP]

If private equity gets a hold of Virgin, there will no doubt be caps introduced :-( Hope it doesn't go through.

[Zee]

This may be bad...
...i hope nothing changes, like download speeds reduced, or download caps, stuff like that.

---------- Post added at 10:01 ---------- Previous post was at 09:31 ----------

Virgin Media Q&A

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6260680.stm