Briefs: NTL revives Virgin Mobile sale talks

Virgin Mobile said Monday it was in preliminary talks on a potential sale to NTL but cautioned that a deal was not guaranteed.

The discussions come after NTL raised its bid for Virgin Mobile to 961 million pounds ($1.7 billion) from its December offer of 817 million pounds.

A Virgin statement reported by The Guardian said, "Following a revised approach from NTL, Virgin Mobile is in preliminary discussions with NTL which may or may not lead to a formal offer being made for the entire issued share capital of Virgin Mobile."

The Guardian said the new offer was seen as fair by industry analysts and was being supported by Virgin's majority owner, Sir Richard Branson.

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