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BSkyB becomes a ‘triple play’
BSkyB’s audacious £211 million October bid for broadband internet provider Easynet upped the ante in a sector that is undergoing another wave of revolutionary change. The bid, a substantial 38 per cent premium to Easynet’s price the day before, surprised many, as most expected BSkyB’s to opt for Easynet’s loss-making rival Pipex Communications. Of ever greater interest for investors now, however, is what BSkyB will do next. The media leviathan is raising £1 billion in a bond issue, money that it intends to spend on acquiring further businesses in the broadband/internet space. Its goal is to join the ranks of the ‘triple play’ media elite – those firms that offer broadband internet, telephony and television. Its purchase of Easynet (and its shark-like circling of other players) throws down the gauntlet to the likes of BT and NTL/Telewest.
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