Woking, Surrey-based TeleWest Communications Plc, the UK’s largest cable operator, has issued its pathfinder prospectus for its proposed global offering. TeleWest, owned by US West Inc and Tele-Communications Inc, expects its planned partial flotation to raise up to UKP380m. Following the issue the two parent companies will each hold 36.7% of Telewest. The group had been set for a flotation earlier this year, but pulled out in May blaming weak market conditions. It now says that the better performance of US quoted cable company stocks has convinced it that now is the right time to try again. The share placing has been undertaken by Kleinwort Benson Securities and Morgan Stanley & Co. Telewest expects its share price to be between 165p and 190p a share for the 216m shares to be offered, which would raise between UKP365m and UKP410m before expenses to help pay for completion of the company’s networks and value it at between UKP1,610m to UKP1,860m. The final offer price is due to be announced on November 22. Unconditional dealings will start on November 30 in both London and New York. TeleWest will be the first British cable company to go public and the money raised will be used in ensuring Telewest has its UK network fully in place by the end of the decade. TeleWest revenues for the year ended September 30 rose fivefold to UKP63m on its still barely one third-built network. But it promises to have cable within reach of 2.8m UK homes by the end of 1999.
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