By Ian Walker
LONDON--TalkTalk Telecom Group PLC (TALK.LN) confirmed Thursday
that it has bought the online entertainment service blinkbox and
the Tesco broadband and voice base from Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN) for an
undisclosed sum.
It did say, however, that the assets have been bought free of
debt and as a single transaction for cash.
Late last year the market was rife with reports that TalkTalk
had emerged as the buyer for the loss making blinkbox business and
today's announcement was expected.
"The integration of blinkbox with our existing TV business is
expected to begin immediately with the benefits of restructuring
the combined platform and revenue synergies expected to flow from
the end of calendar 2015," TalkTalk said.
As part of the same transaction, the company also bought Tesco's
broadband and voice base--75,000 broadband and 20,000 voice
households--enabling TalkTalk to further leverage the superior
scale and economics of its national network.
Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com; @IanWalk40289749
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