VIRGIN MEDIA’s executive chairman, Jim Mooney, has secretly kick-started the £11 billion auction of the television and broadband group with a series of presentations to potential bidders.

So far, 11 expressions of interest have been made for the New York-listed company. The list of bidders is headed by Carlyle, the private-equity group, which has already made an approach. Others include Providence Equity Partners, Blackstone, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Apax.

There are also thought to be a small group of trade buyers that include Viacom and Time Warner.

Mooney, who has been accompanied by several senior executives during the meetings in New York, has been setting out the challenges that the company faces and the strategic vision. The 11 bidders are expected to break down into three or four consortiums, and indicative bids will have to be filed by early August, before Virgin Media issues second-quarter results.

Mooney has been one of the driving forces behind the creation of Virgin Media. He initially led NTL, the cable group, out of Chapter 11, then merged it with Telewest before buying Virgin Mobile.

The group has been hit by the loss of subscribers to its rival, BSkyB, the satellite broadcaster, and a poor financial performance. However, the group’s prospects were helped late last week after announcing a tie-up with Setanta, the sports broadcaster. Under this deal, Virgin will give premium subscribers, who pay £38.50 a month for its “XL” package, free access to 46 Premiership games a year. The group aims to make its money back by encouraging its subscribers to upgrade to the premium package.

Analysts believe Virgin Media, which has about 3.3m cable viewers, could benefit from a period of private ownership. They say the enlarged group has already cut its workforce but there are still costs that can be taken out and this can be more easily achieved away from the scrutiny that a quoted company faces.

The attraction to private equity is the group’s cashflow, which can service debts of £6 billion. This gives it an enterprise value of £11 billion.

Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin Group holds 10.5% of the company, will play a key role in the auction process. He is thought to be willing to roll over some of his holding into the successful bidder. The support of Franklin Mutual Advisers will also be key. It holds a 9.4% stake and is keen to max-imise value.

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