Liberty losses German cable bid

February 25, 2002 Posted: 2328 GMT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -- Deutsche Telekom is on the hunt for a buyer of its six cable television networks now that German regulators blocked Liberty Media Corp.'s $4.8 billion bid for the stations Monday.

The Federal Cartel Office in Bonn did not grant approval for Deutsche Telekom to sell the stations to Liberty, the company said Monday. Such a sale would have given Liberty access to more than 10 million homes in Germany, the second largest TV market in Europe.

"Deutsche Telekom, which has always considered the sale of its cable TV network to Liberty Media would act as a clear stimulus to competition, regrets the decision of the Federal Cartel Office," the company said in a statement.

Deutche Telekom said it is now open to negotiation with interested parties. The company needs a buyer to help reduce its $56.5 billion (65 billion) debt mountain.

Englewood, Colo.-based Liberty (LMC.A: Research, Estimates) has stakes in more than 100 cable channels such as Discovery Channel, E!, and USA Networks.

The Federal Cartel Office had already issued a warning in its preliminary assessment in January.

The German cartel office had demanded Liberty upgrade the cable networks to allow the provision of high-speed Internet and telephone services. John Malone, Liberty's chairman, had been unwilling to meet this demand.

Liberty Media could not be reached for comment Monday.