Easynet said on Monday that it had received an approach which may lead to a takeover, amid a report that British satellite broadcaster BSkyB wanted to snap up the London-listed telecoms group.
“The board can confirm that it has received an approach that may or may not lead to a formal offer being made for the company,” Easynet said in an official statement to the London Stock Exchange.
“There can be no assurance that a formal offer will be made for the company as a result of this approach.”
A further announcement would be made in due course, the statement added, without naming the interested party.
The Sunday Telegraph newspaper had reported that BSkyB was to muscle in on the lucrative internet broadband market by announcing this week the takeover of Easynet.
BSkyB, Britain’s largest pay-television company, could pay up to £150-million ($265-million) for Easynet, the newspaper said, without identifying its source.
The takeover of Easynet would allow BSkyB to offer pay-TV, high-speed broadband and telephone services to its almost eight million subscribers, the paper added.
The deal could unsettle cable television rivals NTL and Telewest, as well as making BSkyB a direct competitor of British Telecom.
Earlier this month, NTL unveiled a $6-billion recommended takeover of smaller rival Telewest, aimed at creating the second-biggest telecoms company in Britain. – AFP