Carlyle Group in Talks to Acquire Virgin Media

The Carlyle Group is in discussions with Virgin Media, the British cable company whose largest investor is Richard Branson, over a potential bid worth around $20 billion, a person familiar with the negotiations said today.

The talks are still early and may not lead to a bid, this person noted.

As the coffers of American buyout firms have swelled over recent years, the firms have become more aggressive in seeking out targets beyond the United States. On Saturday, two American private equity firms partnered with the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan to win Bell Canada, that country’s largest telephone company, for 51.7 billion Canadian dollars ($48.8 billion), the largest leveraged buyout ever.