Darth Vader to save Virgin Media?

John Malone, the chairman of Liberty Global Inc. known in the US as both the ‘Cable King’ and ‘Darth Vader’ for his ruthless business approach, has reportedly expressed an interest in purchasing Virgin Media.

Malone, who has crossed sabres with Rupert Murdoch before in boardroom buyouts, owns several cable networks throughout Europe and his Liberty Global group includes content providers which produce the Discovery Channel and QVC.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Malone joking referred to his namesake when questioned about adding the UK cable network to his collection, wondering if competition could flourish under the “Death Star,” referring to the market dominance of Sky.

He added “We have to look at it, not in a traditional way but in a quite exceptional way, perhaps with partners, perhaps in ways we’d not regard a normal cable company,” said Malone, suggesting that a joint takeover bid, possibly with the Carlyle Group, who own the American cable group Insight may be on the cards.

This could be great news for Virgin Media customers, as a source quoted in the Guardian suggests that the Sky channels debacle could be resolved:

“John knows Rupert and the boys very well and admires them’, says a source close to LGI. ‘Malone is highly unlikely to team up with Branson against Rupert, his old friend and sparring partner. He and Murdoch are friendly rivals and have shared a common interest in the past, reaching deals with each other. He would quickly seek a resolution of the channel and carriage fees dispute and he would seek to establish a sort of professional competitive position.”

When rumours about a possible Virgin takeover first surfaced, James Murdoch stated that he hoped that whoever took over from Virgin would be able to “engage in a more real way” to reach agreement over returning channels to cable TV homes.

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