Lelystad/Vilvoorde, December 27, 2004 - Scarlet has completed the acquisition of the entire Belgian operation of Tiscali S.p.A., Tiscali N.V. Tiscali and Scarlet received full approval from the Belgian Competition Authority for the transaction on December 23, 2004.
This new addition to the acquisitive Belgian operation of Scarlet enhances the possibilities for Scarlet to operate as a full service, 'Triple Play' Telecommunications company and since Scarlet already operates a substantial business in Belgium this also improves its market share substantially.
The existing clients of the acquired operation will be offered to join the full service concept, Scarlet One, with the aim of providing them not only better service but also a broader range of products at very competitive prices. The Board of Scarlet has expressed its view, by using the obvious synergies (Scarlet operates its own network) and applying costs savings that the gross earnings of the new combination should at least double over the next 24 months.
Scarlet will continue to look for successful extensions that could enhance the speed and profitability of the recently introduced Scarlet One strategy. At the same time the company spends a great deal of effort optimising the quality of the current operation, its flexibility and, since the launch of Scarlet One, both in Belgium and the Netherlands, has increased its marketing efforts too.
Although the current operational year is not yet finalized Scarlet is confident that both operational EBITDA and net profit have developed according to the Board's satisfaction. Both in terms of growth in number of clients as well as market share, 2004 has been a successful year.
About Scarlet
Scarlet has since 1992 been active on the Dutch telecommunications market and since 1997 on the Belgian market. Scarlet has some 350 employees and about 1.5 million residential and business customers in the Benelux. Scarlet provides a complete range of services to its customers: fixed and mobile telephony and Internet services (Internet access, broadband/IP, web and server hosting). Thanks to major acquisitions in 2002 and 2003 Scarlet operates its own high tech fibre network within Belgium. Scarlet has a clear strategy: to grow in the Benelux to become the number two provider of telecommunications services. For more information on Scarlet please visit www.scarlet.biz.