Vodafone favourite to buy Tiscali

With Carphone Warehouse believed to be out of the bidding for Tiscali’s UK business, Vodafone is now considered the favourite to acquire the company.

As well as Vodafone, the companies believed to be going through to the second round of bidding are British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc, BT Group, Fastweb SpA and Wind.

The official shortlist has not yet been revealed but is believed to include six companies.

Tiscali will now open its books to the remaining bidders to allow due diligence to be carried out.

The Financial Times revealed the news that Carphone Warehouse’s £550m bid had been rejected because Tiscali felt that it undervalued its assets.

Carphone Warehouse could still re-enter the bidding process, but would have to substantially improve its offer.

It is believed that the UK division will be sold off separately from Tiscali’s broadband business.

Vodafone has also been linked with a £19 billion bid for MTN, a South Africa-based mobile phone operator, but has now said that these rumours are false.