Internet service provider Pipex has been sold to Tiscali for £210m.
Internet service provider Pipex has been sold to Tiscali for £210m.
Tiscali will now officially take over the broadband and voice divisions of Pipex Communications, though it has not bought the domain name register 123-reg or web-hosting service WebFusion, which were part of the Pipex portfolio.
Pipex's business had itself been built up through a number of acquisitions, including Bulldog Internet and Freedom2Surf.
"Tiscali announces today the completion of the acquisition by Tiscali UK Limited of the broadband and voice division of Pipex Communication plc. The final consideration before deductions of £20 million has been confirmed at £210 million," the company said in a statement.
One analyst said that the deal put Tiscali in a much stronger position within a competitive market.
Rumours about the sale of Pipex began earlier this year, though the deal between Tiscali and Pipex wasn't announced until July.
After approval from Pipex's shareholders, the two companies declared their intentions to industry watchdog Ofcom so that concerns about whether the merger would affect competition in the market could be addressed.
"Following the integration of Pipex, Tiscali's market share would amount to around 15 per cent. Its planned launch of TV services and premium content will give the operator a strong product set to better compete with the other major players as an independent entity," said Sally Banks of Ovum.
The deal will increase Tiscali's customer base to just under two million, making it the fourth largest company in the UK ISP market. BT has the largest number of broadband subscribers in the UK with over four million customers.
Virgin Media has just over 3.5 million broadband customers in the UK and the Carphone Warehouse has a collective total of 2.3 million between its two brands, AOL and TalkTalk.
Tiscali is an Italian-owned company with operations in the Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic.
www.tiscali.co.uk
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