It wouldn't be the first time that such speculation has arisen, yet once again the pan-European ISP Tiscali is being considered as a potential takeover target.

With Europe's two largest Internet service providers -- Deutsche Telekom's T-Online and France Telecom's Wanadoo -- now back in the fold of deep-pocketed parents, they could eye a Tiscali takeover to expand their reach.

Tiscali's share price, after a year in the doldrums, jumped 35 percent over the past month, largely on takeover rumors.

"Competition in the sector is very intense. Tiscali is competing against former monopolies, in a sector which demands heavy investment. And beyond investment needs, it has bonds due in 2005 and 2006," said Carlo Castelli at Actinvest in London. "As it is, it will be very difficult for Tiscali to finance its growth. We expect it to be the target in a takeover."

Given the number of endless complaints we get from Tiscali's customers, a takeover/consolidation could potentially help improve the service (well, could it really get any worse?).

Typically Tiscali has stated that it is not presently involved in takeover talks, although there are many that could stand to gain (Deutsche Telekom or France Telecom etc.) from such an investment.

Whatever happens, everybody will be watching Tiscali's remaining 2004 financial results.