Liberty Global says the deal creates the "world's leading broadband communications company," covering 47 million homes and 25 million customers across 14 countries.

"Talk is cheap," except when it really isn't.

U.S. media conglomerateLiberty Global announced last night that it would acquire Virgin Media[PDF] for $23.3 billion, a figure that will likely send shivers down the spine of media rival News Corp. chief executive Rupert Murdoch.

The announcement came just hours after Dell, with the help of Silver Lake and Microsoft, paid more than $24 billion to pull out of the stock market.

Following the handshake on the deal, Liberty Global is already touting the deal as the creation of the "world's leading broadband communications company," covering 47 million homes and 25 million customers across 14 countries.

Little will change for end users and customers of Virgin Media, though -- even the company name will remain the same.

But there are finer points to the deal.

Shareholders in the British cable firm will receive cash and Liberty Global shares for an implied priceof $47.87 in cash per Virgin Media share they hold, a premium of 24 percent on Virgin Media's closing price on February 4.

Virgin Media shareholders will own around 36 percent of Liberty Global's outstanding shares, and hold just over one-quarter of the voting rights. The cash element to the closing price totals $5.9 billion and will be financed through debt financing and available liquidity.

The deal will go through by forming a new holding company. Liberty Global will redomicile from the U.S. state of Delaware to the U.K. by becoming a subsidiary of a new publicly limited holding company.

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Virgin Media snagged for $23.3B by Liberty Global