Dixons To Auction Freeserve
Dixons plans to auction its stake in UK internet service provider, Freeserve, according to reports today. The group, which owns an 80% stake in the ISP, is believed to have allowed bidders up to ten days to place offers for the company, which it expects to be valued at £6bn.
Cable group NTL is expected to make a bid for the group, which is one of the leading Internet Service Providers in the UK, with over two million subscribers. Other possible bidders include German ISP, T-Online, which is 90% owned by Deutsche Telecom, and Terra Networks, a Spanish ISP controlled by Telefonica.
Launched by Dixons in 1998 as the UK’s first free internet service (see Dixons Launches Free Internet Service) Freeserve was partially floated on the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq last year (see Dixons To Float One Fifth Of Freeserve). Since then it saw its share prices tumble as competitors entered the market (see Freeserve Shares Fall Below Flotation Price).