The Carphone Warehouse has bid less than £450 million for Tiscali, 25% lower than the company’s earlier expectation of £600 million.
According to a report in the Sunday Times, interested parties including BT, Vodafone and BSkyB – the satellite broadcaster 39% owned by News Corporation, ultimate owner of The Sunday Times – walked away but left their options open.
Italian broadband provider Fastweb, controlled by Switzerland’s Swisscom thought to be another potential buyer.
In May, Carphone Warehouse signed a £1.1 billion deal in May to sell half its retail division to Best Buy of America paying off its debts.