T-Online, the German monster ISP, is today joining forces with a smaller French counterpart, Club Internet. Deutsche Telekom is merging its ISP subsidiary with magazine publisher Lagardere's Club Internet, to deliver a combined subscriber base of nearly 4.6 million. The stock-swap deal entails T-Online buying Club Internet. In return, Deutsche Telekom will give Lagardere a 6.5 per cent stake in its ISP, which is due to float in mid-April. T-Online has an estimated value of between £9.2 billion and £10.5 billion, and Club Internet of around £600 million, according to the FT. The deal is the latest example of telecomms and media companies clubbing together to cash in on the Internet.T-Online gets more material to play with, while Lagardere has its content distributed to a larger market. It should also make T-online more marketable in its quest to float 10-15 per cent of the company before the summer. ® Related Stories Deutsche Telekom parades Net flat fees AOL demands flat fees for Germany