Vodafone makes informal bid for Kabel Deutschland - report

Vodafone Group Plc has made an informal takeover bid within the past week for Germany's biggest cable company, Kabel Deutschland Holding AG, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Takeover talks have not formally begun because Kabel Deutschland believes the price Vodafone suggested was too low, Bloomberg said, citing people who were not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.

Sources told Reuters in February that Vodafone was weighing a 10-billion-euro bid for the German cable company to expand its services in Europe's biggest economy.

However, analysts had expected talks to die down after Vodafone struck a deal last month with Deutsche Telekom AG allowing it to offer pay-TV over high-speed broadband to its German customers.

A Vodafone spokesperson declined to comment and Kabel Deutschland was not immediately available for comment outside of business hours.

© Thomson Reuters 2013