NTL to buy Virgin Mobile deal this week?

NTL's attempted takeover of Virgin Mobile could be going ahead as early as this week.

According to reports, Virgin Mobile's board is now ready to accept a revised £900m offer for the MVNO (mobile virtual network operator). The board rejected an earlier offer for the operator at 323p per share.

Under the new deal, Virgin head Sir Richard Branson will receive 349p per share for his majority stake in the company, with the minority shareholders receiving 372p per share.

It's thought the final deal will be announced within the course of this week or early next week, with the lawyers acting for the pair now putting the finishing touches to the agreement, newspapers reported.

The Financial Times also reported that Virgin Mobile's CEO Tom Alexander has been persuaded to stay on once the takeover has been agreed. Virgin Mobile's current management will remain in place and the operator will act as a separate unit within NTL, the paper said.