The board of Liberty Global is to meet this week to decide formally whether to join the $23 billion (£11 billion) battle for Virgin Media, the television and broadband giant.

Senior executives at Europe’s biggest cable operator are understood to be planning to discuss the group’s strategy on Virgin at a get-together ahead of its second-quarter results on Wednesday. The group, which has held preliminary talks with Virgin, is understood to have adopted a cautious stance on whether to enter the race.

Virgin Media, the business formed from the tie-up of NTL and Telewest and Virgin Mobile, hoisted the “for sale” sign last month after an approach from Carlyle, the American buyout group. The credit crunch triggered by the collapse of the sub-prime loans market in the United States has thrown into doubt the progress of the deal and the ability of private equity groups to raise the funds required. At present the banks are closed to financing such big buyouts.

TPG, one of the world’s largest buyout groups, has already pulled out of the auction, partly because of concerns about Virgin’s business model. Blackstone is also thought to be wavering.

The concerns led to a 4.08 per cent fall in Virgin Media’s Nasdaq-listed shares on Friday to $23.51.

Sources insist that the sale is on track, but say that it may be stalled for several months. This should allow time for the markets to pick up and bring private equity players back into the process. If there is no pickup, interest from trade players such as Liberty could prove critical in enabling Virgin to pull off a deal.

Most companies generally shy away from high leverage, whereas private equity often piles on debt of multiples of eight times a company’s earnings to see off rivals.

Virgin, in which Sir Richard Branson is the largest single shareholder, with a 10.5 per cent stake, is expected to be asked for details of the process at its second-quarter results. It is thought that Liberty, chaired by John Malone, is open to tying up with a private equity group to make an offer. The group, formerly a shareholder in Telewest, could then manage and operate the assets alongside a private equity co-investor. Mr Malone is thought to feel obliged to look at Virgin Media because the UK is a such a key market. The £12 billion tax losses held by the group, which operates solely in the UK despite being listed on Nasdaq, are also a key attraction. A tie-up would give Liberty a stronger hand in negotiating content deals for its various cable assets. However, Liberty will also have to consider whether competition, particularly from BskyB, the satellite operator, which is 39.1 per cent owned by News Corporation, parent company of The Times, is too strong to overcome.

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