ADSL Broadband
Best Broadband
Cable Broadband
Free Broadband
Fastest Broadband
20Mb Broadband
50Mb Broadband
Fibre-Optic Broadband
Sky pulls out of Tiscali talks
Monday 22nd December 2008, by Daniel King
Sky Broadband has reportedly pulled out of talks with struggling internet service provider (ISP) Tiscali.
The issue that prompted the withdrawal was a disagreement over the value of the Italian firm.
Tiscali has been up for auction since it launched a strategic review in February, but its price has been a regular deterrent for potential buyers.
An initial value of £1.3 billion was placed on the company, but this declined as a result of losses in the firm's market share and the difficult economic climate.
Vodafone expressed interest in the company but it walked away from the table in June due to disputes about the valuation of the ISP.
The Carphone Warehouse was then mooted as a potential buyer, putting in a bid of £600 million in August.
A price tag of £450 million was put onto the company in September and this is now being questioned by Sky.
Tiscali currently has 1.8 million customers and if Sky went through with the deal, it would double its subscriber base.
This would make it third in the UK broadband market behind Virgin Media and BT.
In late November, Sky announced that it planned to raise the money by issuing a ten-year bond to its investors, which could then be used to fund potential acquisitions.
When Sky first made a public statement about the possible purchase of Tiscali, the value of the Italian company's shares jumped 8.4 per cent.
Sky's chief financial officer Andrew Griffith said that taking over Tiscali would boost the number of Sky broadband customers up from nine million to 16 million.
Categories: Broadband, Broadband Products, Tiscali, Sky
