NTL Completes Acquisition of Virgin Mobile

NTL Incorporated, the holding company of the ntl: Telewest group, has announced that having received all necessary court approvals, the acquisition of Virgin Mobile has been completed.

Under a previous agreement, ntl: Telewest has also entered into a licensing arrangement with Virgin Enterprises permitting use of the Virgin brand for ntl: Telewest's full portfolio of consumer services.

Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, commented: "Today, we've created a unique organization - a new, soon-to-be-branded Virgin company - which will offer the very finest in 'quadruple' - the best-value, most -exciting TV, broadband, mobile and phone services in Britain. We're entering a pioneering time, where the worlds of media, entertainment and communications are coming together - and through our new company, our aim is to offer consumers the very best, most sought-after choice available. You ain't, as the saying goes, seen nothing yet…"

For the time being, however, they will continue to operate as separate organizations and brands, so there will be no change to the services or terms and conditions of either company's customers. It is anticipated that the company will start marketing a single portfolio of services under the Virgin brand some time early in 2007, if not sooner.

Steve Burch, CEO of ntl:Telewest said: "This is a transformational deal for ntl:Telewest and good news for UK consumers. Virgin Mobile has a justified reputation for being one of the country's most customer-focused companies. This combined with ntl:Telewest's portfolio of competitively-priced, cutting edge products, will create a formidable competitor in the UK's fast changing communications and entertainment industries."