CMA says nexfibre's £2bn Netomnia takeover could harm broadband competition
The Competition and Markets Authority has provisionally found nexfibre's £2bn acquisition of Netomnia could substantially lessen competition in wholesale fixed broadband, giving the buyers until 16 October to offer remedies.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said on Friday it had provisionally found that nexfibre’s acquisition of fibre broadband operator Netomnia could substantially reduce competition in the wholesale supply of fixed broadband services, according to Reuters.
Nexfibre, a joint venture backed by Liberty Global, Telefonica and InfraVia, agreed in February to buy the owner of Netomnia — described as Britain’s second-largest “altnet” fibre network — for £2 billion ($2.7 billion).
The deal would add more than 3.4 million fibre premises and over 500,000 customers to the partners’ British footprint, which is planned to reach 8 million premises with full fibre by the end of 2027, challenging BT’s national Openreach network.
Nexfibre rejected the regulator’s assessment, saying the findings did not reflect the reality of Britain’s fibre market. “It fails to prioritise the fibre investment the country needs, and the creation of a scaled, sustainable challenger to Openreach,” the company said in a statement.
The buyers now have until 16 October to submit remedies addressing the CMA’s concerns before the regulator takes a final decision. The watchdog has a statutory Phase 2 deadline of 15 December 2026 to conclude the inquiry, ISPreview reported in August.
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