£30m for 60 per cent stake
Electricals giant DSG International is to sell mobile phone chain The Link to telecoms operator O2.

The mobile phone network operator will buy DSGi's 60 per cent stake in the chain for approximately£30 million.

In its full-year results statement released today the retailer said a 'commercial agreement had been reached in principle' but was still subject to the necessary legal processes.

O2, owned by Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica, already has a 40 per cent stake in the 300-store UK chain.

Sales at the mobile phone retailer have been disappointing during the past few months, down 21 per cent on a like-for-like basis during the second half of the year.

Group chief executive John Clare said: 'The competitive landscape for mobile phones, initially a retail market, has changed significantly and become a market in which the profit opportunities can best be leveraged by the networks and telecom service providers.'

Clare added that a sale of The Link would enable the group to focus on its core multi-channel electricals and computing formats.

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