Sky's tie-up with Tiscali 'hits hurdle'

Sky's negotiations to purchase the UK operations of Tiscali have apparently ended after the two parties were unable to agree on price.

In November, it was reported that Sky had made a £450m bid for Tiscali, which operates broadband internet and IPTV services. Rival bidders including Carphone Warehouse and Vodafone dropped out of the process, again with concerns believed to be connected to price, leaving Sky as the sole bidder.

According to The Guardian, Sky's chief financial officer Andrew Griffith was publicly enthusiastic for the deal as recently as two weeks ago; the paper now reports that Sky has pulled out of negotiations entirely.