Liberty Global prepares bid for UK's Virgin Media - FT

Chairman of Liberty Media John Malone attends the Allen & Co Media Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho July 12, 2012.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. billionaire John Malone's cable group Liberty Global (LBTYA.O) is preparing a bid for cable company Virgin Media Inc VMED.O, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing several people familiar with the matter.

Virgin Media -- the UK's second-largest pay television operator according to the FT -- has a market capitalization of around $10.4 billion (6.6 billion pounds) as of Monday's closing price.

A bid for could be announced in coming days, the FT said.

Liberty Global and Virgin Media could not be immediately reached for comment.

(Reporting By Michael Erman; Editing by Richard Pullin)