Microsoft linked to T-Online stake purchase

NEWS German ISP T-Online is rumoured to be considering selling a 25 per cent stake in the company to Redmond giant Microsoft. The move could help T-Online's major shareholder, Deutsche Telekom, reduce its huge debt mountain. The potential sale was reported in German business magazine Capital yesterday. Microsoft and T-Online already have a partnership in place to develop 3G applications. Microsoft's own ISP, MSN, has a subscriber base of about seven million people although these are largely based in the US. A stake in T-Online would give the software company a larger foothold in Europe.