Nice rises Friday and today,after being tipped up by Money Week magazine ,with first half sales up 86%,and a cheaper Broadband bundle than Car Phone warehouse,a forward p/e of 15.4 and a likely takeover target seems the one to be on in a guarateed consolidating sector.

as at the Windmill, all will be revealed in the end!

Just heard on the grapevine that pipex is in fact going to do a reverse takeover backed by private equity and acquire Vodaphone

From The TimesMarch 31, 2007

BSkyB retreats from bidding for PipexElizabeth Judge
BSkyB has pulled out of the bidding for Pipex, the 383 million broadband internet player, in a move that could ease price tension for the asset.

It is understood that Sky which was last year a lead contender for the UK base of AOL did not submit a formal expression of interest for Pipex.

Instead, it is thought to be focusing instead on its organic growth and is not expected to enter the auction at a later stage.

Virgin Media, which has been named as a lead bidder for the asset, is also believed to have cooled on the idea. It is understood that Virgin is no longer involved in the process for the groups main consumer broadband base.

Pipex, one of the last remaining independent broadband bases, was formally put up for sale this month. Speculation about a possible sale had circulated for some time.

Among a slew of interested parties named at the time were Virgin Media, Carphone Warehouse and BT.

It is understood that the sale of the business, which has more than 570,000 broadband customers, is being conducted on a break-up basis.

As well as offering broadband services to consumers and small businesses Pipex, whose brands include Freedom2 Surf, provides internet hosting services. It also has a Wi-Max venture with Intel.

Analysts have said that bidders could be deterred by the difficulty, and cost, of integrating Pipex's broadband customers into their own businesses.

Pipex has been built up through a series of acquisitions during several years.

The group, chaired by Peter Dubens, the entrepreneur, has long been regarded as a sale candidate. As competition in the high-speed internet sector intensifies, big-name players are seeking to maximise returns on infrastructure by scaling up their customer bases.

The competition in broadband has already forced several players out of the market.

Last year, the UK arm of AOL was snapped up for 370 million by Carphone Warehouse. In September, Pipex, which has been amassed from the acquisition of about 14 businesses, bought Cable & Wirelesss Bulldog customer base for 12 million. Industry experts believe the market will eventually be whittled down to three or four major players, including BT.

Anyone know whats going on?

the big players are thought to be cool on the idea of bidding for PXC,
The above post nicely explains.

I'm holding out for the time being..sp might strengthen later on (imo)

lots of rumour and counter-rumour flying about ..... however, it is undisputable that PXC is for sale ...... am already o'weight but tempted to buy further

Pipex down 10% plus big sells

and your point is? ....... it is as undisputable that PXC is for sale that there is also a lot of very short term money invested

I Agree with cynic lots of T10 will be forced to close there deals out today

I was just hoping to hear something about the takeover & SP will go up this week.

join the crowd! ...... suspect nothing until after close on Thursday - i.e. start of long w/e .... don't think it is relevant that Friday is not a formal b/h in either US or Europe

From the Mail on Sunday


Favourites Log Out of Pipex Deal
TWO frontrunners to buy broadband firm Pipex have dropped out of the auction, throwing into doubt the price that entrepreneur Peter Dubens can win for his internet empire.

Cable giant Virgin Media withdrew over concerns about regulatory challenges to a deal, while satellite rival BSkyB decided to continue building internet customers from its own subscribers.


Virgin was seen as favourite.

The race now looks to be between BT and rival The Carphone Warehouse, which last year paid Pounds 370 million for AOL's 1.5 million UK internet customers. Dubens hoped to achieve a price of more than Pounds 450 million for Pipex, which has 570,000 customers.

In an exclusive interview, Steve Burch, chief executive of Virgin Media, told Financial Mail he would this week announce a major deal with troubled telecom group Cable Wireless or Tiscali to sell high- speed internet services.

All it takes is two! hopefully desperate to acquire

I hope so........

i believe agm on the 13th of this month.dont expect a statement untill then.

well spotted .... assuredly PXC will have to make some sensible noises at that juncture if they have not done so before

THATS ON A FRIDAY ONLY REASON I KNOW THAT IVE GOT A DENTAL A APPOINTMENT FOR THAT DAY IN THE MORNING

Personally I'm not convinced they'll find a buyer. If they're putting the company up for sale they clearly don't see much shareholder value being generated with the current business going forward. Assuming post 172 above is correct, then Carphone Warehouse paid less for nearly 3 times as many customers. I can't see the wi-fi and hosting side of the business justifying the additional cost, and I'm not sure if anyone apart from BT would be interested anyway. I think Carphone has enough problems with customer service and intergrating the AOL acquisition to take on another supplier (at what may be a premium), and if the reports are to be believed, Sky and Virgin have already dropped out. BT probably make money on supplying the lines to Pipex to run their service, and already have large hosting solutions, so why buy at a premium?

Just my thoughts. Do your own research. I don't hold, and don't see any reason to buy at present. Not that I've got any money anyway.... :-(


Strawbs.

Todya's Times reiterates the story that BT is now the only serious bidder ..... this is something of a nuisance, though i am quite sure BT will press ahead and it is still not impossible that a further predator will appear at the last minute.

and just to remind you all .....
The Sunday TimesMarch 25, 2007

BT secures regulatory approval for possible 407m Pipex tie-upElizabeth Judge
BT has secured regulatory approval for a tie-up with Pipex, it emerged yesterday, as it joined a group of bidders tabling offers for the 407 million broadband player.

Just because Dubens wants out does not relate to shareholder value.
Forecasts are for profit and eps to quadruple Dec 06 to Dec 08.
Dubens has already sold one co and clearly is a master of spotting potential.

Wimax is a potential killer for 3G, as well as BT's traditional phone lines. The hosting side is the most profitable, having more margin than broadband. CW may go for PXC given the former's appalling backbone which cannot cope. Which still leaves Vodaphone, desperately needing a presence and with 3G a dead duck. Or a foreign player...or BT.