Carphone Warehouse recommences talks with Tiscali
Tiscali, the ailing internet service provider, has reportedly recommenced talks to sell off its UK business to Carphone Warehouse.
It is understood that Tiscali is keen to finalise a deal by the end of the month as it faces debts of around £453m.
In a statement today (April 24) Tiscali confirmed “the existence of negotiations for the disposal of its activities” in the UK.
It has been speculated however that the Italian parent company may only get a fraction of what it had hoped from the sale of the UK business. It had originally aimed to raise £600m from the sale.
Tiscali had previously been in talks with Carphone Warehouse last year, but the telecom and retail group pulled out of negotiations after failing to agree on a price.
Other companies thought to be involved in discussions with Tiscali are Vodafone and BSkyB.
Meanwhile, this week Carphone Warehouse announced that it would create 10,000 jobs over the next four years to staff up to 70 electronics stores in Britain as part of its joint venture with Best Buy.
Carphone Warehouse is also planning to split its TalkTalk fixed line and broadband operations from its 2,400 retail stores.
