June 17 (Reuters) - Kabel Deutschland - Germany'sbiggest cable operator - confirmed on Monday that they havereceived a preliminary approach from U.S. media group LibertyGlobal Plc after a British newspaper reported that thecompany had put forward a 7.5-billion-euro bid for the company.
Kabel Deutschland did not provide any details of theproposal.
A spokesman for Liberty Global confirmed that the companyhad made a preliminary approach but declined to comment further.
The Financial Times reported that the offer by LibertyGlobal, owned by American cable television magnate John Malone,is at about 85 euros per share, citing people familiar with thetalks.
Liberty Global's offer sets the stage for a bidding war withVodafone Group Plc, which last week confirmed that itmade an offer to buy Kabel Deutschland but did not provide anydetails.
Reuters reported on June 14 that Vodafone, the world'ssecond-biggest mobile operator, was considering raising itsoffer for Kabel Deutschland after an initial 7.2 billion eurobid was knocked back by Kabel Deutschland.
Liberty Global, which operates as Unity Media in Germany, isthe number two cable operator in the country and a potentialoffer would meet scrutiny from competition authorities.
Liberty Global bought UK's Virgin Media in February in acash and stock deal that valued Virgin's equity at $15.8billion.
Vodafone (VOD)