BSkyB is close to a £450 million (€568.7 million) purchase of the UK interests of Italian ISP Tiscali. Carphone Warehouse, which had also been involved in the long running auction process, is understood to have withdrawn its interest.
According to The Sunday Times, BSkyB has now entered due diligence during which the pricetag could be reduced. In addition to 1.84 million broadband internet subscribers, the ISP also runs Tiscali TV, the former HomeChoice IPTV business.
Over the past 18 months Tiscali TV has made itself available from around 700 unbundled exchanges across the UK, and including Newcastle, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Sheffield and Liverpool, though has had trouble holding onto the 50,000 subscribers reached by HomeChoice in the Greater London area.
