Virgin Media O2 is reportedly in talks to buy UK broadband operator TalkTalk.
According to Sky News, the Liberty Global-Telefonica joint-venture has submitted an indicative bid that values the company at around £3 billion.
Talks are said to be at an early stage and on a non-exclusive basis, with rivals including Sky and Vodafone having also stated their interest in recent months. TalkTalk, which went private in 2020, is being advised by investment bank Lazard.
The acquisition of TalkTalk would add 4.2 million customers and 2.4 million fibre connections to VMO2’s 6 million broadband, pay TV and mobile users (O2 alone has 34 million mobile customers).
TalkTalk was founded in 2003 by Sir Charles Dunstone as a subsidiary of Carphone Warehouse. It demerged as a standalone company in 2010, and went on to evolve into a quadruple play operator (though it stopped offering mobile…
