Telewest pulls out of plan to sell Flextech (Surprise, Surprise)
 

Telewest is set to shock the City when it pulls the sale of its Flextech
television channels rather than sell them to satellite broadcaster BSkyB for
over £1 billion.
Analysts say the cable operator could make the announcement shortly, possibly
timing the disclosure to coincide with a statement that merger talks have
begun with rival NTL. The long-awaited tie-up between Britain's two largest
operators would create a cable powerhouse valued at about £6bn.

The decision not to sell Flextech to BSkyB, part-owned by Rupert Murdoch's
News Corporation, has been taken because the satellite television group is
viewed as a long-term competitor to cable in the fiercely competitive pay-TV
market.

Another factor may have been opposition from the BBC, which has a 50 per cent
stake in UKTV, one of Flextech's channels. The BBC has also been involved in
the launch of Freeview as a competing service to BSkyB.

BSkyB was thought to be in pole position to win the package of Flextech
channels with a £1.2bn bid. The offer from BSkyB was the highest received by
Telewest's financial adviser, Deutsche Bank.

Full article:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/busin...577514,00.html