Tipped by the independent 2/01/2004

........."And so to our traditional "wild card". Pipex Communications, formerly known as GX Networks, is a telecoms company created by one of the entrepreneurs behind Ukbetting, Peter Dubens. It has been assembled from six smaller players. The ambitious company is generating cash for the first time but is still not widely followed in the City. It could be an undiscovered gem".

Yep, you bet... still holding !

Nice one. LOL

Is there an offer coming at last that someone, somewhere is aware of?

Wow look at those last few buys - massive - whats the news?

Been following this company for ages and decided to buy in on Monday, just a modest holding at 13.80p, Fantastic rise since then, they have excellent position in competitive market, and in my eyes look ripe for takeout, although I think there may be a bit of that in the current price.

Perhaps someone has seen a preview of the results.

Read a notice on Topic this afternoon, that one of the major players had increased their holding to 18%+. Was in a hurry so couldn't quite digest it all, but I would view this as a good sign, if the major players are adding - could be the reason for yesterday's rise.

Not surprised to see the price come off today after yesterday's performance and am actually quite pleased that it was only 1p.

Don't let this one slip you by. Keep it on radar, looking good for some seriously good news.

Times Online March 17, 2006


What does Pipex have in the pipeline?
By Kieren McCarthy



Pipex, the UK-based internet firm, has been the source of constant speculation about a possible takeover move this week. But its vote at the controversial extraordinary meeting of the UK internet domain directory yesterday has created further rumour.

Shares in the AIM-listed Pipex jumped by 15 per cent on Tuesday on the rumour that a takeover was underway and a major shareholder had been bought out. The next day they fell 6.25 per cent during massive trading for the company. They jumped up again yesterday when it was revealed 30 million shares, equating to 1.3 per cent of the company, had indeed been sold.

Chairman Peter Dubens told Times Online that he could not comment on any share movements or rumours, but he did concede that it looked as if a large shareholder had sold up.

With Pipex's annual results due to be announced on April 3, and with more analysts than ever probing the recesses of the internet market, the company has been under particular scrutiny by City analysts and investors.

What makes the situation more peculiar is that the same thing happened a month ago when rumours that BT was planning a 350 million takeover of Pipex saw its share price jump 5 per cent. BT played down the speculation but it led to a positive re-evaluation of the company by analysts.

Pipex has out-performed the market, but it is its trial of the next-generation WiMax broadband wireless technology that has got investors most excited. Mr Dubens is keen to point out though that it does not have a WiMax "licence", as has been reported, but merely significant rights over the spectrum that may end up being used for WiMax.

But what has really stumped observers is Pipex's behaviour this week towards the company that runs the UK internet registry, Nominet.

Pipex has three main arms of its business: broadband net access; networking services; and selling and hosting internet domains, the latter accounting for 33 per cent of the company's profits.

Nominet is the company in charge of all domains ending in ".uk" and Pipex is, in effect, Nominet's largest shareholder as it runs the largest number of .uk domains. With 1,043 votes, it has just over 10 per cent of all available Nominet votes.

At an extraordinary general meeting yesterday, Nominet's board asked members to consider three resolutions that would provide it with greater flexibility and allow it to bid for commercial contracts in future.

One of the measures it was hoping to overturn was the requirement for a 90 per cent approval from members before it made certain changes, including price rises.

The board also requested a change in the weighted voting system that would cap any individual's voting rights at 10 per cent.

Nominet chairman Bob Gilbert revealed at the start of the meeting that all the resolutions had already fallen thanks to the decision by two of Nominet's three biggest members, including Pipex, to vote against the measure by post and effectively veto the proposals.

Gilbert confessed after the meeting that he still had no idea why the two companies had voted against the resolutions. One, Fasthosts, refused to disclose why, saying only that it had "No comment". The other was Pipex.

Speculation is rife over why Pipex changed its tune at the last minute and why it stills refuses to explain, even to Nominet, its reasons for doing so. One theory is that Pipex and Fasthosts are looking at a merger. Another that the company planning to takeover Pipex wants the company to retain its influence in the .uk registry.

Either way, it has alerted the UK internet community to the reality that Pipex has an effective veto over any Nominet actions. There is already talk about devising a new system to restrict Pipex's influence, but even that may prove difficult thanks to a spectactularly low turnout for the EGM. Just 11 per cent of members voted, meaning that large members' votes carry disproportionate weight. Pipex could potentially block any motion that restricted its stranglehold on the company.

With Pipex having demonstrated willingness to use its veto, there are now many thousands of Internet companies joining analysts in trying to understand what the company is planning. So far, it has refused to say.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-2090895,00.html

Very interesting article Troys. After all the watching & waiting we've done over the years it's good to see the sp surging and PXC becoming the centre of attention!

Very interesting times ahead queen1

1-0 to Fulham.

A splendid result in lots of ways :-)

Brokers forecast suggest that the results due out 3/4 will show a profit in the region of 7.3 mill versus a 5 mill loss last year.
with the ongoing rumours of a takeover, this share is looking a very good bet at the moment.

brianrog, that should push the sp up again which will be very pleasant.

Rise today of a couple of pence, 10% - which is nice

Yep... still looking good... I'm now showing 100% profit having gone in small time over a yr ago, wish I'd bought more and all that...However, will continue to hold..more still to come (imho)

Skyhigh
Not going to topup

PIPEX Communications plc

Acquisition of Homecall


Acquisition of one of UK's largest residential voice businesses

Strengthens position in broadband, voice and line rental

Takes PIPEX above 1,000,000 customers

Leverages infrastructure investments and local loop unbundling strategy


PIPEX Communications plc, the broadband, hosting and telecoms network operator,
is pleased to announce the acquisition of Caudwell Communications Limited,
trading as Homecall, for an undisclosed sum, including the assumption of bank
debt of approximately 43 million, which has now been repaid by PIPEX.


About Homecall


Homecall is one of the UK's leading providers of voice, line rental, and
broadband services. Homecall currently has over 500,000 customers of which in
excess of 350,000 take more than one service.


The last set of audited results for the year ended 31 December 2004, showed
turnover of 91.4 million and a loss before tax of 34.7 million. The losses
were principally incurred by a significant and successful customer acquisition
programme. Homecall is now trading profitably at the profit before tax level.


Financial Impact


Currently, the acquisition is anticipated to improve PIPEX's EBITDA by
approximately 2 million in 2006 and approximately 5 million in 2007. It is
not expected to have a significant impact on current capex forecasts for 2006
and 2007 and is expected to improve free cash flow after interest for 2007 by
approximately 4 million. There will be additional synergies which may provide
further upside.


Rationale for acquisition


PIPEX's stated strategy has been to develop an integrated portfolio of voice and
broadband services. The acquisition fits well with this strategy, with over
350,000 Homecall customers buying more than one service. The value of this
strategy is demonstrated by increased average revenue per customer and a
considerable improvement in customer retention. Where a customer purchases
carrier pre-select ('CPS'), wholesale line rental ('WLR') and broadband services
the average customer life-cycle is extended by 44 months beyond that of a
single-service voice subscriber.


In addition, there are a number of further benefits:


The acquisition brings with it complementary sales channels to PIPEX's
web based approach: a high street distribution presence selling through the
Phones4u retail chain of 363 outlets and a large outbound telesales team;

The acquisition should provide significant cross-selling opportunities
for Homecall's voice products and PIPEX's broadband and hosting services. As
a combined entity, the Group will now have over 29% of its broadband base
buying other services, up from 2% a year ago;

The acquisition increases the density of customers around a number of
exchanges which PIPEX is currently unbundling, and is expected to both
improve margins and enhance the payback period on the investment made in
unbundling these exchanges;

The acquisition adds significant scale, increasing the total PIPEX
customer base to over 1 million customers across broadband, CPS, WLR and
hosting.


Chairman of PIPEX, Peter Dubens, commented:


'This acquisition brings with it four very important elements: additional scale,
high street and call centre sales channels, accelerated returns on our LLU
strategy and significant cross-selling opportunities.


'In terms of scale, we will now have over 1 million customers in the UK across
broadband, voice and hosting, further consolidating our position as a major
player in the broadband market. PIPEX traditionally sells over the internet and
the acquisition brings significant call centre sales expertise and importantly
access to high-street footfall through a distribution agreement with Phones4u.
We can use these distribution channels not only to drive new business but also
cross-sell our hosting and broadband services, a model that should generate
financial benefits as well as significantly increase customer retention. As a
result, we expect the financial effects to be immediately beneficial to PIPEX's
shareholders.


'Finally, PIPEX is a growth company and there should be significant
opportunities for the management and employees of Caudwell to drive the combined
business forward. We look forward to working with them.'

-ends-

PIPEX Communications plc 020 7766 6909

Peter Dubens, Chairman


Financial Dynamics 020 7831 3113

Juliet Clarke / Edward Bridges / Hannah Sloane


Notes to Editors


Carrier Pre-Select ('CPS') is a regulated way for alternative telecom operators
to bypass incumbent operators such as BT and offer competitively priced voice
calls from fixed lines.

Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) is an Ofcom regulated product which enables BT's
competitors to offer customers a single bill for both line rental and calls. WLR
is significant to broadband service providers, as it enables them to provide a
seamless service to customers who would otherwise still get a bill from BT for
rental of the line carrying the DSL, which is seen by BT's competitors as
placing them at a substantial brand and marketing disadvantage.


This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange