U.S. private equity giant The Carlyle Group is in discussions with Virgin Media, a British cable company, over a potential bid worth around 20 billion dollars, The New York Times reported on Monday.

The talks are still early and may not lead to a bid, the report quoted a person familiar with the negotiations as saying.

The offer for Virgin Media, said to be worth about 19.6 billion dollars including debt, could be among the largest ever in Britain.

Last year, a group of American private equity firms, including Providence Equity Partners, the Blackstone Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Cinven, held talks with Virgin Media about a possible 15 billion dollar bid, according to the report.

Virgin Media in May reported its seventh consecutive quarterly loss after subscribers defected to rival British Sky Broadcasting. The loss widened to 241.7 million dollars, compared with 240.9 million dollars a year earlier.

The aim at Virgin Media signaled that the private equity firms are becoming more aggressive in seeking out targets beyond the United States, said the report.

On Saturday, two American private equity firms partnered with the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan to win Bell Canada, that country's largest telephone company, for 48.8 billion dollars, the largest leveraged buyout ever.