CMA Warns Nexfibre’s £2bn Netomnia Deal Could Hurt UK Broadband Competition

Britain’s competition watchdog has provisionally found that Nexfibre’s £2 billion takeover of fibre broadband operator Netomnia could “substantially” reduce competition in the wholesale supply of fixed broadband, putting one of the UK’s biggest broadband consolidation deals at risk.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Friday that its in-depth probe of the proposed acquisition of Substantial — the holding company behind Netomnia, Brsk and the YouFibre and Brsk ISP retail brands — had identified competition concerns. The findings are provisional rather than a final decision, according to Reuters and Dow Jones Newswires.

Nexfibre, a fibre joint venture backed by Liberty Global, Telefonica and InfraVia, agreed in February to buy Netomnia, the country’s second-largest “altnet” fibre network, for £2 billion. Nexfibre said the watchdog’s findings did not reflect the reality of Britain’s fibre market, accusing it of failing to prioritise “the fibre investment the country needs” and the creation of a scaled challenger to BT’s Openreach network.

The CMA has invited the companies to submit remedy proposals within 14 days and is seeking feedback on the provisional findings by October 23, with a final decision expected by December 15. The deal would add more than 3.4 million fibre premises and over 500,000 customers to the partners’ footprint, which they plan to extend to 8 million premises with full fibre by the end of 2027.

Sources:

• Reuters — Reuters
• Dow Jones Newswires via TradingView — Dow Jones Newswires via TradingView