[Pierre]

Virgin Media would not buy C&W.

They don't have the money and as you say they don't need the C&W network (which is huge and no doubt the Ops and Maint costs for running the network is a big monkey on their back)

It's not just their vast UK infrastructure but they also have thousands of km of submarine cables that cost millions to maintain.

They wouldn't spend big just to gain some customers, much better to get the customers to switch on the back of the uncertainty of the company's future.

The way forward would be to break up C&W and sell it off piecemeal. C&W UK Network is made up of the old Mercury, Energis, Thus & Yourcoms networks

O2 would have no interest in the submarine network but may want some of the UK Network, whereas TATA wouldn't really have much interest in the UK Network but would like some of the submarine cables - if not all of them.