Octopus Investments lines up deal for TalkTalk's wholesale arm PXC

Octopus Investments is reported to be on the verge of entering advanced talks to buy TalkTalk Group's wholesale broadband and Ethernet business, PlatformX Communications (PXC). According to reporting attributed to Sky News, the fund manager, acting through infrastructure investor Fern Trading, has emerged as the front-runner for the deal.

Octopus is said to have seen off interest from private equity firm Epiris, which had earlier been linked to a bid alongside PXC executive chairman Tom O'Hagan. O'Hagan recently helped acquire business provider Entanet from full fibre operator CityFibre. PXC had also drawn interest from Africa-focused Telecel.

Any agreement is expected to require a period of exclusivity lasting several weeks while Octopus finalises financing. The business is expected to be valued in the hundreds of millions of pounds. TalkTalk declined to comment on the reports.

Why Fern Trading fits

The deal is notable because Fern Trading already backs a string of fibre assets. It supports wholesale fibre business AllPoints Fibre Networks (APFN) and London-focused enterprise ISP Vorboss, along with fibre providers including Jurassic, Swish and Giganet (which includes Cuckoo). A purchase of PXC would fold TalkTalk's wholesale platform into a group already building out a fibre wholesale play spearheaded by APFN.

TalkTalk's consumer business, which serves about 1.8 million customers, is also attracting bidders. Vodafone (VodafoneThree) has reportedly tabled a bid for the consumer arm, a pairing seen as complementary. Wireless ISP Opus Broadband, formerly 6G Internet and connected to network operator IX Wireless and Tahir Mohsan, is also understood to have expressed interest. Earlier reports linked both Vodafone and Virgin Media O2 to the consumer and wholesale units.

One complication is that TalkTalk's consumer business is strongly tied to PXC's wholesale products. Any deal for one side may need agreement on how that relationship continues, whichever buyers emerge.

A long-running break-up

A sale of PXC would mark a decisive stage in the dismantling of TalkTalk, founded by Sir Charles Dunstone in 2003. Toscafund Asset Management, previously the group's second-largest shareholder, completed a £1.1bn takeover in 2021. Two years later the company said it would split into three units: a B2B wholesale platform, TalkTalk Consumer and TalkTalk Business Direct. The last of those was subsequently sold to TFP Telecoms Limited, a special purpose vehicle controlled by the main shareholders of TalkTalk Telecom Group Limited.

The group has tried to sell its wholesale division before. Australian investment firm Macquarie is reported to have walked away from talks in 2024.

The financial pressure behind the disposals is considerable. TalkTalk Group's latest annual accounts, for the year ended 28 February 2025, showed a statutory loss before tax of £465m, up from £153m the year before. Net debt excluding leases stood at £1.2bn, rising to £1.96bn once leases are included.

The group has also been shedding customers. Last week it sold 120,000 broadband customers to altnet Rise Fibre, with financial terms undisclosed.

No final agreements have been reached, and the reported leaks could form part of a tactical strategy by interested parties. Even so, the future of TalkTalk's debt-troubled businesses may be settled before the end of 2027.