Cagliari, London, 4 September 2003 - Tiscali S.p.A. (Nuovo Mercato, Milan: TIS; Nouveau Marché, Paris: 005773), the leading Internet Communication company in Europe, today announces that it has acquired, through its UK subsidiary, npower’s consumer telephony business in the UK for a price between £6 million and £7 million. The final amount, to be paid in cash instalments by December 2003, will be finalised upon completion of the customer migration process.
The deal strengthens Tiscali’s UK telephony business with the acquisition of npower’s database of up to 200,000 active telephony customers, a business that Tiscali expects will generate revenues in excess of £25 million a year, before synergies.
npower, one of the UK’s largest energy and utility suppliers to domestic and business customers, currently provides discounted local, national and international telephone services. The company is moving out of telecoms to focus on its core products of gas, electricity and related services.
The npower customers will be migrated and Tiscali will take over customer service and support once the migration process is complete.
Sergio Cellini CEO of Tiscali UK says: “This was a very good proposition for Tiscali because telephony is one of our core businesses and we will be able to provide these customers with excellent choice and support for their voice telephone services as well as offering attractive and competitive dial-up and broadband Internet services.”
This acquisition is in line with Tiscali’s strategy to further grow its ISP and telephony services in the UK.
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About Tiscali
Tiscali UK forms part of Tiscali SpA., headquartered in Cagliari, Italy. The UK company was launched in July 2001 following the acquisitions of Liberty Surf, World Online and LineOne. Most recently, Tiscali UK acquired Tiny Online and Gateway ISP. Tiscali UK is positioned within the UK market as the 4th largest ISP.
Tiscali S.p.A., (Nuovo Mercato, Milan: TIS, Nouveau Marché, Paris: 005773), is the Internet Communication Company providing access, content and business applications, as well as innovative communications services. As of 30 June 2003, TISCALI had 7.6 million active users of whom 470,000 were broadband customers.
Tiscali's corporate website can be found at www.tiscali.com
See www.tiscali.co.uk for more information on the company and new products.
About npower
npower is one of the UK’s top three energy suppliers with over 50 years experience in supplying electricity and gas. It also offers a range of essential home and business services, including conveyancing, home insurance and loans, to 6.5 million customers across the UK. npower is owned by Innogy, a part of the RWE Group.