UK regulator says Nexfibre-Netomnia deal could hurt competition
Britain’s competition watchdog provisionally found that Nexfibre’s acquisition of Netomnia could substantially reduce competition in wholesale fixed broadband services. The £2 billion deal would add more than 3.4 million fibre premises and over 500,000 customers to the partners’ footprint.
1. CMA raises concerns
The Competition and Markets Authority said it had provisionally found that Nexfibre’s acquisition of Netomnia could substantially reduce competition in the wholesale supply of fixed broadband services. Nexfibre, a joint venture backed by Liberty Global, Telefonica and InfraVia, agreed to buy Netomnia’s owner for £2 billion in February.
2. Alternative buyer scenario
The CMA said it believed CityFibre would most likely have bought Netomnia if Nexfibre had not struck a deal. In that scenario, CityFibre would provide increased competition to Nexfibre and Liberty Global, Telefonica-owned Virgin Media O2, and BT’s Openreach network.
3. Remedies deadline
Nexfibre said the CMA’s findings did not reflect the reality of Britain’s fibre market and said they failed to prioritise fibre investment and the creation of a scaled challenger to Openreach. The buyers can submit remedies by October 16 before the regulator makes a final decision. The deal would bring the partners’ footprint to 8 million full-fibre premises by the end of 2027; Openreach is expected to cover 25 million premises by the end of this year.
