World Online confirms Tiscali talks

NEWS Dutch internet service provider, World Online today confirmed it is in exploratory talks with Italian rival, Tiscali which may ultimately lead to a merger between the two companies. Speculation heightened over the weekend after Renato Soru, chairman of Tiscali, told Italian news agency Ansa that he was speaking with World Online - among others - about future alliances. World Online's share price rose 11 per cent yesterday on the news but the company refused to comment. A merger would create the second largest indigenous ISP in Europe with 4.75 million subscribers - second only to Deutsche Telekom. World Online boasts subscribers in 16 European countries but does not hold leadership position in any of them. In a prepared statement, World Online said: "Discussions with Tiscali are exploratory in nature and therefore we cannot anticipate whether these discussions will lead to agreement on future co-operation."