Scottish Telecom set for £1bn IPO

Scottish Power is set to sell-off part of its IT business to cash in on the stock market's ravenous appetite for telecom shares. The clever money suggests that the floatation will happen in the Autumn although it's expected that only 25 per cent of the business will be put up for sale. Scottish Telecom is estimated to worth anywhere between £1 billion and £1.5 billion. According to a report in today's Daily Telegraph, Scottish Power would be following in the footsteps of National Grid after it sold off Energis to realise the value of its telecomms subsidiary. Last year, Scottish Telecom doubled its profit to £10 million thanks in part to the performance of Demon Internet which it bought for £66 million in May 1998. Shares in Scottish Power rose 23 to 565p yesterday following the news and have continued their upward path this morning. They rose as high as 584p in early trading before falling back to 573p by lunchtime. ®