The Latest in IT Security

By Kate Holton and Robert Hetz LONDON/MADRID (Reuters) – Britains Vodafone has offered to buy Spains largest cable operator Ono from its private-equity owners, two people familiar with the situation said, in a deal that could top 7 billion euros ($9.5 billion). Telecom operator Vodafone is seeking to persuade Ono, which sells fixed and mobile phone, TV and internet services, to drop its plans for a stock market listing intended to capitalize on high investor interest in European cable firms. This interest reflects how consumers are increasingly turning to cable companies for television and high-speed broadband at faster speeds and often lower prices than from telecom companies. Vodafones offer, ahead of the Spanish companys board meeting on Tuesday, was its second after the first was rejected as unacceptably low, according to a third person familiar with the deal.