Cable & Wireless PLC of Britain announced Monday it has agreed to acquire the Japanese subsidiary of PSINet Inc. of the United States for 7.2 million British pounds to expand Net-related business here.
However PSI Net Inc. is undergoing bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S., and it is possible the subsidiary will be sold in a court-supervised auction, according to the British telecom carrier's Japanese unit, Cable & Wireless IDC.
If another party outbids Cable & Wireless and acquires PSINet Japan Inc., the British firm will be entitled to a breakup fee and other expenses, the company said.
If realized, the agreement will more than double Cable & Wireless IDC's Internet-related sales.
PSINet Japan, which offers Internet connection services to Japanese corporations, posted about 28 million British pounds in sales for the first half of the current fiscal year, according to Cable & Wireless IDC.