By Jo Best, 5 September 2003 13:34
NEWS Equipment maker Marconi will sell its 40 per cent stake in broadband business ISP Easynet, according to newspaper reports. The sale will raise £56.7m, as Marconi will offload 44.7 million shares. Following a similar sell off in July the communications equipment maker sold a 32 per cent stake for over £40m. The sell-off is seen as a sign of growing confidence, as companies jump at the chance to mop up the millions of newly-released shares, as well as paving the way for more mergers amongst the smaller players in the market. Easynet released its interim results today, with a positive financial outlook and revenue of £55.2m, up over a third on the previous year. Profits also rose, with a two-thirds improvement taking them to £28m. The share sale was heavily over-subscribed and will help Marconi to clear up some of the remaining debt still dogging the firm. As part of a scheme introduced some months ago as a sweetener for management to help Marconi get out of the financial mire, the company will also grant over three million share options to around 300 staff over the next few weeks.
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