Tiscali, the Italian internet service provider, has reportedly put its UK division up for sale with a price tag of £600m.

According to the Independent on Sunday, the company sent out a sale memorandum to a number of parties last week, with BSkyB, Orange, Carphone Warehouse, NTL and BT all tipped as potential buyers looking to consolidate their position in the UK market. 

The sale of the UK operation is thought to be part of a move by Tiscali to concentrate on business in its home country, after deciding that it doesn't have the scale to compete with companies such as Sky and BT in the UK. The company has also recently sold its Dutch operations for €255m, and announced plans to withdraw from Germany and the Czech Republic. 

Tiscali UK has around 1.4 million broadband and 50,000 pay-TV customers, and makes profits of around £30m. Back in September, analysts valued the business at up to €750m.