TalkTalk snaps up Tiscali UK

TalkTalk has revealed that it is to buy Tiscali UK in a £236m cash deal but the acquisition has yet to be approved by the EU.

The deal means TalkTalk will now have around a 25 per cent share of the UK's consumer broadband market with 4.25 million customers.

This means it now has more broadband customers that Virgin Media, which has just under four million customers, though still short of BT's 4.7 million.

TalkTalk moved to reassure existing Tiscali customers that there would be no changes to their services and that their email addresses would remain the same.

Charles Dunstone, chief executive at TalkTalk, said: "The most important message for Tiscali customers is that their service will continue and improve.

"We will make sure you continue to receive the home phone and broadband services you rely on. We have created a website at www.talktalk.co.uk/tiscali where Tiscali customers can go for more information on what is happening," Dunstone continued.

Michael Phillips of price comparison service BroadbandChoices.co.uk said the deal could be good for Tiscali customers.

"In our two most recent Customer Satisfaction Surveys, TalkTalk has repeatedly scored higher than Tiscali so this should bode well for Tiscali customers who will now be part of the same group," Phillips said.

Tiscali was put up for sale last year and attracted interest from rival ISPs such as TalkTalk and Sky.

The £236m price tag is well short of the offer made by TalkTalk's parent company, The Carphone Warehouse, last year, which was reported to be in the region of £550m.