 In March 1998, Telewest announced a merger with General Cable, and acquired the outstanding interest in Birmingham Cable, adding a further 1.7 million franchise homes in Yorkshire, west London and Birmingham.Telewest purchased the remaining 50% stake in Cable London from NTL in August 1999, adding 0.4 million franchise homes in North London.Telewest merged with Flextech in April 2000, and in November, extended its cable network with the acquisition of Eurobell, taking the total number of homes passed to 4.9 million.