Posted: 10th Aug, 2006 By: MarkJ
Reports suggest that two other ISP's, HomeChoice (Video Networks) and Tiscali, are also set to merge in a deal worth an estimated £100m. The potential has been rumoured before, yet the latest information suggests that an agreement could be announced as soon as next week:
News comes almost 10 months after HomeChoice, controlled by Microsoft co-founder Chris Larson, warned that it could run out of money within a year unless it could secure further funding.
The company, whose other shareholders include Walt Disney, Sony and Warner Bros, is trying to take on BSkyB and NTL. But at the last count it had just 45,000 customers in London and Stevenage.
Last year, it doubled the number of homes that can receive HomeChoice - which offers 80 TV channels, broadband access, video-on-demand and phone calls - to 2.5m.The Telegraph piece doesn't say much beyond the basic crux of the story and its history, but no doubt more will be announced should the deal itself come to pass.
Typically Tiscali UK has long held growing 'content' ambitions, which could be boosted by the acquisition of HomeChoice and its unbundled video-on-demand/ISP platform.