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BT to buy Friends Reunited?

Bidders emerge for school reunion site

Tags: itv, friends reunited, bt

By Jo Best

Published: 17 October 2005 12:00 GMT

BT has tabled a bid to buy school reunion website Friends Reunited, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

The paper said BT is interested in the seemingly unlikely union as a means for exploiting links between the site and its phones tariffs such as Friends and Family. A spokesman for the telco declined to comment on the "rumour and speculation".

Other parties interested in buying the service include an unnamed internet company; News Corporation, which owns the Sunday Times; and ITV, which would want the site to extend its business model beyond advertising revenues.

It's thought there are around six bidders in the running for the site, with the asking price set to break the expected £100m.

Five-year-old Friends United is currently owned by husband and wife team, Julie and Steve Pankhurst, who could earn around £30m from the sale of their online business.

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