United Business Media (UBM) and BT have this morning announced the immediate sale of their jointly-owned portal and internet service provider (ISP), LineOne, to Tiscali S.p.A, an Italian telecommunications company.
Tiscali is paying €100 million (£63 million) for the LineOne business; €20 million in cash and the rest in around 5.4 million Tiscali shares.
In its last full financial year to 30th June 2000, LineOne had revenues of £12.0 million and operating losses of £12.1 million.
In November last year UBM and BT announced that they were looking for a new owner for the ISP (see United And BT Agree To Sell LineOne).
LineOne was launched in 1997 by BT and News International; UBM subsequently paid £10 million for a 33% stake in the company. News International then pulled out of the venture and the two remaining owners injected £12 million into the business to keep it afloat.
Whilst LineOne is still one of the leading ISPs in the UK, it has been a much more costly enterprise since the subscription model was ditched in favour of free access in order to keep up with market competition. In November, UBM and BT said that the business no longer fitted with either company’s plans for the future.
The acquisition of LineOne gives Tiscali a leading presence in the strategically important UK market and strengthens its overall position as the second largest ISP in Europe.
At 10:00am today, stock in UBM was down 1½p at 656p.
