NEW YORK - John Malone, the US media mogul and chairman of Liberty Global, is considering entering a US$23 billion ($30 billion) auction for cable operator Virgin Media, the Financial Times reports.
Malone, who also chairs Liberty Media, called his interest in Virgin Media exploratory but said hiscompany was "doing our homework".
Virgin Media had asked suitors to submit expressions of interest by the first week of August to start an auction of the company, sources said.
About 10 suitors have expressed an interest, sources said, since private equity firm Carlyle Group made an initial offer this month.
Financing a US$23 billion equity and debt package in tight credit markets may make Liberty Global an attractive partner for a private equity bidder, the FT reported.
Liberty Global, the holding company for Malone's non-US cable assets, spans much of Europe.
It also has cable systems in Japan and Latin America, but has been frustrated in the UK and German markets, the FT said.
