Tesco's now looking to offload its mobile business
With a £6 billion loss hanging over its head, Tesco has taken steps to help plug its financial leaks. This involved the sale of its Blinkbox streaming properties, including Movies, Music and Books, but it appeared that one of its more successful businesses, Tesco Mobile, would survive the cull. According to the Financial Times, even the MVNO is now on the chopping block, after the supermarket giant began talks with bankers about putting the carrier up for sale.
It's a curious decision, given that Tesco Mobile is one of the biggest operators outside of the four main providers. The 50/50 venture with O2 generates £100m a year for Tesco, helped by low-cost tariffs and 250 specialised mobile stores it operates within branches. Given that companies like Sky and Carphone Warehouse are launching their own networks, Tesco might be looking to get out while the going is good -- it certainly can't afford to lose any more money while its other businesses are performing so poorly.
