Britain’s Virgin Mobile might merge with cable operator NTL Inc.

Latest rumors emerging in the market are claiming that Richard Branson’s Virgin Mobile is considering merging with the cable operator NTL Inc. If the deal is confirmed, it could be worth around 4.5 billion-pound and it would result in an entity which would be potent enough to take on Rupert Murdoch’s British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC. The Sunday Telegraph published this report.

This combined group is also expected to try to snatch the television rights to Premiership soccer matches from BSkyB, which is currently the Britain’s largest pay TV operator. However, none of the two parties involved in this reported deal has commented on the rumors circulating the market. however, Monday should bring out more confirmed news from both the media and these two companies.

If the deal goes through, the newly formed Virgin media group would have 2.5 million broadband Internet customers, 4.3 million fixed-line telephone accounts, and more than 5 million cell phone customers. And they would become the first company in Britain to offer a package of cell and fixed line telephones, pay television and high-speed Internet services. They are also expected to offer video content on Virgin cell phones.

Murdoch owned BSkyB is also not sitting idle as they recently agreed to buy high-speed Internet provider Easynet Group PLC for 211 million pounds.