Deutsche Telekom's cable plans scuppered by regulators

NEWS German regulators have dealt a blow to Deutsche Telekom by blocking the planned sale of its cable TV business to Liberty Media. The telco giant is trying to reduce its debt from EU65.2bn to EU50bn before the end of the year, with the proposed $4.8bn sale of the cable division representing a significant step along the way. But Deutsche Telekom is now relying heavily on the flotation of T-Mobile later this year to slash that debt, although it has not given up on finding another buyer for its cable unit. The Cartel Office's decision is also bad news for US outfit Liberty Media, which was hoping to use Germany as a platform to expand in Europe. Liberty - which is run by cable industry tycoon John Malone - has been linked with buy-outs of both NTL and Telewest in the UK. It already holds a 25 per cent stake in the latter. Rumours that the deal would be blocked first surfaced at the end of January.