E.U. said set to approve Liberty's $15.8B bid for Virgin Media

E.U. antitrust regulators are set to approve unconditionally the proposed $15.8 billion bid for Virgin Media by John Malone's Liberty Global, sources say. The deal would give Liberty Global, Europe's No. 1 cable operator, control of Britain's second-biggest pay-TV provider and intensify the rivalry with Rupert Murdoch in the European cable market. The E.U. competition authority is due to announce its decision by April 15.