Telewest to pull Flextech sale

CABLE company Telewest will shock investors by pulling the sale of its content division Flextech rather than selling it to broadcaster BSkyB.

BSkyB had been widely tipped to succeed in the battle to buy Flextech, which owns the channels Living TV and Bravo, after reportedly making a £1.2 billion (€1.8bn) offer.

Telewest decided against the sale because BSkyB is seen as a rival.

The decision was also said to have followed opposition from the BBC, which owns half of Flextech channel UKTV.