Iliad: The one that got away

For many telecoms investors, Iliad is the one that got away. The French internet service provider’s shares nearly doubled within a year of its January 2004 IPO. The group kept piling on customers with an attractively-priced «bundle» of fast internet access, telephony and digital TV. However, its share of new broadband subscribers dipped slightly in the fourth quarter. This led to a 20% plunge in the stock, which has since recovered only part of its losses. Short term, there is little for invest...