BSKyB, owned by media baron Rupert Murdoch, has agreed to buy Easynet, a broadband networks company, for £211 million. This deal will enable BSKyB to add IP telephony, video-on-demand and broadband services to its satellite TV services. The company, following this deal, will be better equipped to compete with against BT and also the newly-merged cable companies NTL and Telewest.
Easynet is a leading local loop unit -based broadband provider in the UK which provides services up to 8 Mbps (megabits per second) for ISPs including Wanadoo and PlusNet.
BSkyB chief executive, James Murdoch, said: "Easynet innovative network and technological expertise perfectly complement Sky's strengths in programming and in making technologies easy to use". Since Murdoch’s arrival two years ago, BSkyB has been able to add new subscribers with a view to reaching its goal of 10 million by 2010 up from around 8 million currently.
"This is a great opportunity to accelerate Easynet's local loop footprint, capture market share for next generation broadband services and support new and existing corporate and public sector customers," the Easynet chief executive, David Rowe.
Sky said it would pay 175 pence in cash per one Easynet share, a premium of 38 per cent to the stock's closing price of 127 pence Thursday night. However, shares in Sky fell 2 pence to 517 pence on Friday morning.
The number of UK broadband connections has risen by around 86 per cent from 4.4 million to 8.1 million in one year ending June 30 2005. This is the segment that Sky is eyeing keenly.
Posted
on : Fri, 21 Oct 2005 15:10 GMT | Business News
By : Anne Philips
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