LONDON (Reuters) - British online electricals retailer AO World (L:AO) will increase the scale of its mobile phones business after agreeing to buy Mobile Phones Direct (MPD) for an enterprise value of 32.5 million pounds, it said on Friday.
MPD is an online-only retailer of mobile phones in the UK, based near Reading, southern England. It operates through two brands - mobilephonesdirect and smartphonecompany - which had 13.6 million visitors in 2017.
AO's mobile proposition is currently limited to the sale of handsets only, without airtime or associated services.
The group also updated on first-half trading. It said group revenue rose 9.9 percent to 404.2 million pounds in the six months to Sept. 30, with UK revenue up 5.7 percent and European revenue up 35 percent.
"Despite the weaker trading environment, AO remains on track with its strategic plan and is well placed to capitalise on the forthcoming peak trading period," it said.
It forecast full-year results within the range of its expectations, albeit more second-half weighted than previously anticipated.