Kotsovolos owner Dixons pondering merger with Carphone Warehouse

Dixons Retail Plc, the largest UK consumer-electronics retailer and owner of Greece’s Kotsovolos chain, said on Monday it is in talks to merge with Carphone Warehouse Group Plc, bringing together companies with combined revenue of about 12 billion pounds ($20 billion).

Discussions are at a very preliminary stage, the companies said in a statement, sending Dixons shares up as much as 11 percent and Carphone Warehouse as much as 7.1 percent.

A combination would give Hemel Hempstead, England-based Dixons a bigger presence in the fast-growing areas of mobile phones and tablets. [Bloomberg]