Carphone buys Tiscali's UK assets

[Scoobs]

Carphone Warehouse is to buy the UK assets of Italian internet service provider Tiscali for £236m.

Tiscali has about three million customers in the UK and had previously been in talks with BSkyB, but those broke down earlier this year.

Carphone Warehouse currently provides broadband services under its TalkTalk brand and also owns AOL UK.

Carphone chief executive Charles Dunstone said that the company would eventually just have a single brand.

But he added that Tiscali e-mail addresses would survive.

Tiscali has struggled with its debt, which stands at about 600m euros (£535m).

Shares in Tiscali were temporarily suspended in March after declining 40% on the news that talks with BSkyB had broken down.

Carphone announced plans last month to separate its mobile phone business from its TalkTalk fixed line and broadband operations.

Carphone Warehouse operates 2,400 mobile phone shops across Europe in a joint venture with the US retailer Best Buy.

Source BBC News