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Article: One.Tel sells UK unit to Centrica for pounds 58m
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- July 4, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2001 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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CENTRICA MORE than doubled the size of its fledgling telephone
business yesterday after buying the UK operations of One.Tel, the
Australian telecoms business that collapsed in May, costing its two
founders, the media heirs James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch, pounds
380m.
The British Gas to AA road services group is paying pounds 58m for
One.Tel UK, which has signed 650,000 customers since its launch three
years ago and made about pounds 8m profits sales of pounds 100m in
the year to 30 June.
The acquisition will increase Centrica's telecom customers to more
than 1 million. British Gas Communications, which was launched last
September, has 400,000 customers.
Ian El-Mokadem, the managing ...