Posted: 04th Feb, 2009 By: MarkJ
Tiscali's Chief Executive, Mario Rosso, has informed
Reuters that he intends to conclude the sale of
Tiscali UK by the end of next month. The news follows confirmation that
Tiscali's wholesale International Network (TiNet) division had been sold to a Private Equity group:
BS Private Equity acquires Tiscali International NetworkCagliari, Milano February 3rd 2009
Tiscali and BS Private Equity SpA and BS Investimenti SGR announce to have agreed the acquisition by the latter of the activities held by
Tiscali International Network BV, subsidiary of
Tiscali SpA, for a total Enterprise Value of ca EUR 47 million, including a potential EUR 7 million earn-out. Closing is conditional upon signing of the final agreement and approval of the relevant antitrust authorities.
TiNet offers to customers world-wide wholesale IP-MPLS connectivity through a global network covering 3 continents and with over 100 points of presence.
In 2008 TiNet had a turnover of over EUR 35 million compared with a turnover of ca EUR 28 million with the same perimeter - and an EBITDA of ca EUR 10 million (corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 28%).
Following the acquisition, TiNet will continue to offer IP services to the
Tiscali Group.
It's still believed that BSkyB (
Sky Broadband) remain the favourites to buy
Tiscali UK's assets, despite pulling back from talks over price concerns late last year (
original news). However recent reports indicated that the talks had resumed, although whether these remain exclusively with BSkyB remain uncertain.
We suspect that whoever buys
Tiscali UK could end up paying less than
Tiscali would have liked, especially given the groups continued tendency to bleed broadband subscribers. The future of its UK IPTV service has also faced a lot of scrutiny and we're still awaiting their delayed strategic report.