Liberty Global says would look at Telefonica's O2

LONDON, May 10 (Reuters) - Liberty Global (NasdaqGS: LBTYA - news) said it would consider buying Telefonica (LSE: 826858.L - news) 's O2 in Britain if Brussels blocks Hutchison (HKSE: 0013-OL.HK - news) buying the mobile network, but it valued the flexibility of its current mobile strategy based on a virtual network.

Sources have said EU antitrust regulators will veto CK Hutchison's 10.3 billion pound ($14.9 bln) acquisition of Telefonica's O2 in Britain, a deal that would reduce the number of networks in the country to three from four.

Liberty Global's British cable TV network Virgin Media piggybacks on EE's network to provide mobile services to its customers.

Liberty's Chief Executive Mike Fries said he looks at all options when asked by an analyst whether he would look at O2 if Hutchison were blocked.

"It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) would be strange if we didn't evaluate that option, but I can't give you any colour on that," he said on Tuesday.

"(But) we like our current plan, and while I like optionality I am not particularly fond of options that preclude optionality.

"So we are going to be thoughtful not just about the economics of a transaction (...) but also looking three, four, five years down the road; 'what is the right plan for us?' And that's what we are doing in every market for mobile." ($1 = 0.6925 pounds) (Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Susan Fenton)