Global Crossing, the US telecommunications company is considering selling off or merging its UK division with a rival.
It has been speculated that the potential sale of the UK arm could attract Cable & Wireless, BT and Scottish & Southern Energy as serious bidders.
Global has retained several contracts with government departments, including Revenue & Customs. Global also has a long-standing contract with Camelot, which is due to finish this year.
Global Crossing specialises in IP and legacy services including IP VPN Service, VoIP Service and IP Video. Their customers include carriers, ISPs and mobile operators.
The UK division is one of the largest generators of profit for Global. Singapore Technologies Telemedia, its controlling shareholder, has raised debt against the arm.
The majority of the business is the former Racal Telecom, which Global bought in 1999 from Sir Ernest Harrison’s Racal Electronics empire for £1 billion. Global has an extensive fibre-optic network, including British Rail’s old telecoms arm.
Global Crossing UK made £78m in underlying earnings last year on £297m of revenue. It is thought to have a value of £600m. The company has been worth £24 billion at its peak.
