The $6 billion merger between NTL Inc. and Telewest Global Inc. cleared another hurdle Friday after the U.K. Office of Fair Trading determined that competitive issues surrounding the merger were not enough to warrant referral of the transaction to England’s Competition Commission for further review.
The deal, announced in October, joins the two largest cable operators in Britain.
NTL will next mail out a final proxy to shareholders, following U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission comments.
In a research report, UBS Warburg LLC cable debt and equity analyst Aryeh Bourkoff anticipated a February or March closing for the transaction.
