For sale: breathe

GUS confirms what we already knew

By Tim Richardson • Get more from this author

Posted in e-Business, 17th April 2001 13:38 GMT

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Great Universal Stores (GUS) has finally confirmed that it is selling its ISP, breathe, less than four months after acquiring the operation for £1.4 million.

El Reg reported last week that GUS was looking for someone to buy the operation. At the time GUS would not comment on rumour and speculation.

Today, a GUS spokeswoman admitted the sale was going ahead. She told The Register "We are in talks with a number of parties to sell breathe."

She declined to name which outfits were currently in the frame.

She also denied that GUS had pulled the rug from under breathe, insisting that GUS's main intention in buying the ISP was to acquire its technology.

If that's the case, then it seems odd that breathe would go public with plans to re-launch an unmetered Net access service; executives at the ISP can have had
little inkling that the business would be effectively stripped of its technology and sold on.

One last thing. GUS notified staff at breathe of the plans to sell the business last Thursday afternoon - just hours before they left for their extended Easter break. Nice one. ®

GUS to sell breathe
breathe to close?
breathe's resuscitation is complete
breathe expected out of rehab soon
GUS buys Breathe for £1.4m

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