BT buys dabs.com

BT Group PLC 28 April 2006 DC06-203 April 28, 2006 BT BUYS DABS.COM Purchase of leading internet retailer will boost online sales and service BT announced today it has acquired dabs.com plc, one of the UK's leading internet retailers of IT and technology products. The move is part of BT's strategy to strengthen its online sales and service capabilities, particularly for small and medium-sized business and consumer products. To complement Dabs' broad base of IT and technology products, BT will offer its full range of products and support services online - enhancing its position as a leading retailer of converged IT and communications products and services. Established in 1990 and employing more than 200 people, dabs.com processes about 75,000 customer orders each month and offers more than 15,000 products from leading IT manufacturers. Bolton based Dabs has around a million consumer and business customers across the UK, as well as a small operation in France. In the year ended March 31, 2005, the company's revenues were £180 million with gross assets valued at £42million. Ian Livingston, chief executive of BT Retail, said: "Dabs is a dotcom success story and one of the best companies in its field. "dabs.com's outstanding expertise will boost BT's online power to sell innovative, value for money, communication and converged IT products and offer great service to a wide range of customers. "This purchase strengthens our online IT and digital products sales and service presence for small and medium-sized businesses as well as for consumer customers." Jonathan Wall, marketing director at dabs.com, said: "This is a very exciting time. We are delighted with this development and we're confident that this will prove to be rewarding to both our business partners and our customers. "The combination of our expertise in online retailing together with BT's brand and product and service heritage offers tremendous opportunities." The dabs.com business now becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of BT. Inquiries about this news release should be made to the BT Group Newsroom on its 24-hour number: 020 7356 5369. From outside the UK, dial +44 20 7356 5369 All BT Group news releases can be accessed at our web site: www.bt.com/newscentre Notes to editors About Dabs dabs.com is one of the UK's most successful online IT retailers, with significant growth over the last five years; it represents an exclusive collective of online businesses that are both proven and profitable. Growing from its roots 18 years ago as the traditional mail order reseller Dabs Direct, the Dabs business model has evolved significantly during recent years in line with a drive to enhance the customer's online buying experience through the exploitation of advancements in digital technology. The dabs.com web site offers around 15,000 products to its more than one million registered online customers across the UK. Dabs has won many high profile awards for both its online retailing and business performance including Best Online Retailer in the 2005 What Laptop Awards. About BT BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in more than 160 Countries. Its principal activities include networked IT services, local, national and international telecommunications services, and higher-value broadband and internet products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale. In the year ended March 31, 2005, BT Group's revenue was £18,623 million with profit before taxation of £2,354 million. British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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