BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators will decide by April 15 whether to clear a 10.5 billion pounds ($15.8 billion) takeover bid by U.S. cable group Liberty Global for British peer Virgin Media (>> Virgin Media Inc.), the EU competition authority said on Thursday.

The deal, if approved, would pit Liberty Global (>> Liberty Global Inc.) controlling shareholder and U.S. billionaire John Malone against Rupert Murdoch, owner of British satellite group BSkyB (>> British Sky Broadcasting Group plc), in the fast-developing European cable market.

Liberty Global, Europe's No. 1 cable operator, notified the deal to the European Commission on Wednesday, the authority said on its website.

The Commission can either approve the takeover in the preliminary review, extend the scrutiny by 10 working days to examine concessions or open a lengthy investigation.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)