Wanadoo, France Telecom's internet service provider, has made a £1.65bn takeover bid for British internet firm Freeserve.
Shares in Freeserve were suspended from trading on the London stock exchange earlier today before the announcement of the bid for the British internet service provider.
Last month, Freeserve, which is 80% owned by electrical retailer Dixons, said it was in talks that could lead to a takeover of the business. Wanadoo confirmed at the time that it was in discussions with Freeserve.
New of the talks sent a shockwave through Energis investors who feared their company - part-owned by the National Grid - could lose important telecom contracts if Freeserve were bought.
In June, Freeserve shares plunged by 20% after the collapse of merger talks with German rival T-Online that could have led to a £6bn deal for the acquisition of the British company.
At its last results announcement, in September, Freeserve said it had passed the 2m customer mark but losses for the first quarter of the year had doubled to £17.8m.
If Wanadoo succeeds in buying Freeserve, it would be its biggest acquisition since it floated in May. However, last month it was rumoured that Freeserve was in talks with other interested parties.
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