Kingston Communications - the telco that operates from a BT-surrounded enclave in Hull - is the latest outfit to receive a bid approach.

In a statement today the company confirmed that "has received an approach that may or may not lead to an offer for Kingston Communications.

"The approach contains a number of conditions and pre-conditions which are being considered by the Board.

"The Directors emphasise that these discussions are conceptual in nature and that there can be no certainty that they will lead to any definitive agreement concerning any transaction," it said.

News that Kingston could be acquired follows hot on the heels of Cable & Wireless' (C&W) acquisition of Energis and Sky's £211m bid for Easynet. Kingston operates in East Yorkshire but also has national reach via its Affiniti communications integrator business and broadband ISP Eclipse.

Separately, a report out today by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) predicts that large-scale mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the tech sector look set to continue.

Heralding the "return of the mega deal", PwC reported: "Despite deal volumes remaining relatively stable, the value of M&A deals in the technology sector has risen by 112% to €81billion in the first nine months of 2005." ®