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Sky confirms interest in Tiscali
Wednesday 10th December 2008, by Daniel King
Sky Broadband's chief financial officer has confirmed that it is interested in purchasing struggling Italian internet service provider (ISP) Tiscali.
Andrew Griffith told an investor conference that taking over Tiscali would enable the firm to provide broadband to a greater number of households in the UK.
He noted that Sky currently provides around nine million homes with access to the internet and that could rise to 16 million if Tiscali was acquired, reports Reuters.
Sky broadband products are currently favoured by those willing to take the company's television package, but Mr Griffith said its standalone internet connection is not as popular.
However, he noted that purchasing Tiscali could enable the firm to rectify this and expand the appeal of Sky Broadband.
Last month, Tiscali said it was in talks with Sky, but until this week, the potential buyers had declined to comment on the subject.
"Something like Tiscali would allow us to extend our offering and our services in a scale industry to another 16 million households, and that potentially could have value," Mr Griffith said.
He added that any consolidation of broadband the company looks at is done so with "a skeptical gaze" because he has "no doubt" that Sky could meet organic targets alone.
Despite this, Mr Griffith said purchasing Tiscali could help boost Sky Broadband's core UK market.
If the deal went through, Sky might need to pay around £500 million for the ISP's UK assets, according to Media reports.
According to the Guardian, Tiscali could soon be invited to have free and unlimited access to BBC iPlayer technology.
Categories: Broadband, Broadband Products, Tiscali, Sky
