Aviva-backed altnet Truespeed in merger talks with rival

A fibre broadband web supplier backed by an limb of Aviva, the FTSE-100 insurer, is successful merger talks with a rival amid increasing fiscal unit connected the heavy indebted industry.

Sky News has learnt that Truespeed, which has received £175m of backing from Aviva Investors, is successful discussions astir a tie-up with Freedom Fibre.

Negotiations betwixt the 2 companies and their respective shareholders are said to beryllium underway, though it was unclear connected Thursday however apt they were to effect successful a deal.

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If successfully concluded, the merger would make a web with entree to much than 400,000 premises, according to manufacture analysts.

Truspeed, which is concentrated successful the westbound of England, successful areas specified arsenic Bath, Somerset and southbound Gloucestershire, had connected 28,000 customers to its web arsenic of past summer.

Last year, Truespeed merged with County Broadband, an altnet focused connected East Anglia, to make an relation covering much than 175,000 homes.

Freedom Fibre, which was launched successful 2020, has built a beingness successful Cheshire and Greater Manchester.

In precocious 2023, it reached an statement to merge with VX UK Holdings, establishing a combined concern with much than 285,000 premises passed.

Freedom Fibre is backed by blue-chip infrastructure investors specified arsenic Equitix and InfraBridge, which is portion of New York-listed DigitalBridge Group.

A merger of Truespeed and Freedom Fibre would correspond different measurement successful the consolidation of an manufacture which has begun to amusement signs of superior fiscal strain.

A fig of altnets person enactment themselves up for merchantability successful caller months aft struggling to rise the caller financing required to present their standalone transportation plans.

The largest subordinate successful the sector, down BT Group's Openreach arm, CityFibre, completed a £2.3bn refinancing past year, which has near it well-placed to spearhead manufacture consolidation.

CityFibre, which has a commercialized narration with Sky, the contiguous proprietor of Sky News, had much than 730,000 lawsuit connections arsenic of past autumn.

The fiscal strains connected the assemblage are typified by the plight of companies specified arsenic G.Network, which had raised hundreds of millions of pounds successful indebtedness and equity funding.

This week, the Financial Times reported that it had been sold to Fitzwalter Capital, a distressed indebtedness fund.

Spokespeople for Aviva Investors and Equitix declined to comment.

Neither Truespeed nor Freedom Fibre could beryllium reached for comment.