(By Richard Holway 9.00am 16th Apr 09) Further to my piece – Tiscali in Deep Trouble - on 8th March 09, the ‘trouble’ has now got a whole lot deeper as their Auditors refuse to sign off accounts (The Times 16th Apr 09)This is one of those ‘what might have been' stories. Back in 2006, Tiscali were riding high in the UK market after buying Pipex for £210m. Last year, Tiscali put themselves up for sale with a price tag of £500-600m. Sky apparently offered only £350m after the other contenders – BT and Carphone Warehouse – ‘no bid’.
Now what is Tiscali worth? I think there are those who might suggest nothing. We are now either going to get a ‘fire sale’ or one of the increasing ‘purchased from the receiver’ deals.
As I said in my earlier articles, I have a vested interest in this as Tiscali has been my ISP since broadband arrived in leafy Farnham some 6 years ago. I’ve been pretty pleased with them – cheap and reliable. What more do you need? And that’s the real problem. Your Internet provider is really as exciting as who supplies your electricity or petrol. Most purchasers are not interested in the ‘value add’. The market is now dominated by the triple or quad plays – not an area where Tiscali could play. Personally, the last thing I want is all my comms and entertainment on the same supplier contract.
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