In what was most certainly a well timed and audacious bid from Carphone Warehouse, the company has managed to secure the acquisition of Tiscali’s UK broadband division which has been up for sale sometime. While there were concerns that the longer the operation was starved of funding, because of the financial status of Tiscali itself, the more customer it would lose, it would appear that Carphone Warehouse has timed its acquisition to perfection.
While no financial details of the transaction have been announced the company will now have a combined UK customer base of 4.25 million broadband users, which is just over 25% of UK households. The company is now calling itself “the largest residential broadband provider in the UK” although this is a claim which is being contested by British Telecom. The acquisition of Tiscali UK has surprised some because Carphone Warehouse had initially indicated a potential outright sale of its TalkTalk broadband division. However, whether as a consequence of the economic situation or an about turn by the directors, it seems the business will receive significant investment in the short to medium term.
It will be interesting to see how the likes of Virgin Media broadband, British Telecom broadband and Sky broadband, to name but a few, react to the growing threat from Carphone Warehouse.