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Virgin's Branson Confident NTL's Mobile Bid Will Go Ahead
SYDNEY -(Dow Jones)- Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson said Thursday he is confident that NTL Inc.'s bid for Virgin Mobile Holdings U.K. PLC will go ahead.
Virgin Mobile's independent directors Wednesday unanimously rejected NTL's offer, saying the bid "materially undervalues" the company. Branson's representative on the board absented himself from the discussions.
NTL, which operates a cable TV system in the U.K., said Monday it was considering offering 323 pence a share for Virgin Mobile, which would value the U.K.-based mobile operator at GBP834 million
"The non-executive directors have decided they want to extract better value from NTL, and I wish them well with that," Branson told reporters at a briefing in Sydney.
"But the difference between what they have asked for and what NTL has offered is not material in financial terms, so I am hopeful that either NTL will come up with it or a compromise and a deal will be reached. It's up to NTL to decide whether they offer more, but the difference is only about GBP22 million," he said.
Branson holds a 72% stake in Virgin Mobile and had pledged that if an offer was made he intends to take payment in NTL shares and could license its brand so that NTL would offer a wide range of Virgin-branded services.
"I have made it clear that I am prepared to take NTL shares, and become the company's biggest shareholder, but it is not for me to decide what is a fair price," Branson said. "Logically, I believe they will cut through and will get it sorted," he said.
"Everybody sees the industrial logic of this deal, and it will provide great benefits to the public in bringing competition to Sky," he said.
Virgin Mobile's share price has stayed above the 323 pence level since the bid was announced. The shares closed Wednesday flat at 345.5 pence.
-By Lyndal McFarland, Dow Jones Newswires;
61-2-8235-2957; lyndal.mcfarland@dowjones.com
-Edited by Graham Morgan
(END) Dow Jones Newswires"
Posted to the site on 8th December 2005