Cable & Wireless up bid for Thus

Cable & Wireless has made a statement to the London Stock Exchange confirming that it is in discussions with Thus Group - a broadband provider - and may raise its offer for the company to £330 million.

Thus rejected a bid from Cable & Wireless - which has 24 per cent of the shares in the company - at the end of last month, believing the £302 million offer to be inadequate.

While the Thus board has said the new offer is "worthy of consideration", it did not feel it warrants recommendation to investors.

The board said in a statement: "It is the Thus board's view that the offer is not such a compelling proposal that the Thus board could give a recommendation to Thus shareholders to accept the offer at this time."

Cable & Wireless have increased their bid as broadband providers in the UK fall under further scrutiny following a survey of broadband speeds by moneysupermarket.com.

Few broadband connections reach the speed of which they advertise, with the higher connection speeds offering the least amount of value for money, the survey found.