Vodafone Group is in talks with cable group Liberty Global over a possible joint venture to combine respective their businesses in the Netherlands.

Both companies had been embroiled in talks last summer over a wider merger of European assets, before negotiations broke down in September over a valuation issue.

Vodafone confirmed the latest talks in a statement, insisting that the “discussions are ongoing and do not extend beyond the creation of a joint venture in the Netherlands”.

The announcement followed a Bloomberg report earlier today claiming the two parties had revived discussions over assets in Europe at the beginning of the year, with Netherlands being a focus.

Vodafone added: “There is no certainty as to when or whether any transaction will be agreed”.

The Netherlands was indeed one of the markets speculated about when the companies entered into asset swap discussions last time round, along with possible mergers in the UK and Germany.

Vodafone operates a mobile business in the country, the market’s second largest with 6.2 million customers, while Liberty Global has Dutch cable TV assets, and has been rumoured to be interested in beefing up its presence in the country by offering bundled services.

Should negotiations again break down, Liberty Global could make a move for Deutsche Telekom’s up for sale unit T-Mobile Netherlands, added Bloomberg.