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Telewest in magazine talks?
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May 1, 2000: 7:43 a.m. ET
Reports: U.K. cable firm in talks to buy publisher IPC for $1.8B
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Britain's second-largest cable company Telewest Communications is in talks to buy magazine firm IPC for about £1.2 billion ($1.8 billion), according to published reports.
IPC, which was bought for about £900 by private equity firm Cinven in 1997, owns some of Britain's most famous magazine names such as men's magazine Loaded, Marie Claire, Woman's Own and Country Life. 
According to people familiar with the talks, Cinven has placed a price tag of £1.2 billion to £1.5 billion on IPC and has approached media firms, including Bertelsmann of Germany and Vivendi (PEX) of France with a view to a sale, the Daily Telegraph said.
Negotiations are thought to be at an early stage, The Times of London said. Telewest (TWT) could not immediately be reached for a comment Monday, due to a public holiday in most parts of Europe.
With the launch of digital television, media companies are jockeying to offer more content for the Internet. Telewest recently launched the U.K.'s fastest high-speed internet service, called "blueyonder" which offer access at speeds of 512 kilobits per second, compared with typical home-computer modems that operate at speeds of up to 56.6 kilobits per second.
Telewest recently completed the acquisition of Flextech, the producer of television channels such as Bravo and Trouble, for £2.3 billion.
Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) announced plans last May to pay about $3 billion in stock for the 29.7 percent stake in Telewest owned by MediaOne Group following the U.S. firm's acquisition by AT&T (T: Research, Estimates). The telecom firm's Liberty Media unit is already a shareholder in Telewest, Britain's second-largest cable operator after Nasdaq-listed NTL. (NTLI: Research, Estimates)
Microsoft's planned acquisition is currently under review by European Union antitrust regulators. 
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Telewest
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