Freeserve, Britain’s largest ISP, is to invest $10m in TelePost Holding and will offer TelePost’s unified messaging and conferencing services, known as Telserve, to its users. This will gives Freeserve customers the ability to make conference calls with up to six other callers in the UK and internationally.
Freeserve, a subsidiary of electronics retailer Dixons Plc, is playing a major part in financing Telepost, a privately-held company based in Santa Cruz, California. It is making a loan of an undisclosed amount that can be exchanged for 35% of Telepost’s equity. It plans to syndicate part of the loan and has already done so to the tune of $1.7m.
The investment was justified by Dixons as a stake in TelePost’s pioneering technology. However, the indications are that Dixons wants to build a portfolio of internet stock investments. Last month, it invested $15m in US online financial news and services company, GlobalNet Financial.com.
