Owners of Virgin Media O2 near £2bn deal to buy altnet Netomnia through nexfibre

Telefónica and Liberty Global, joint owners of Virgin Media O2, are reported to be nearing a £2 billion (€2.3 billion) takeover of the alternative network Netomnia, one of the largest independent fibre builders in the UK.

The talks were first reported by the Financial Times. Under the plan, the acquisition would be made through nexfibre, the network joint venture owned by Telefónica, Liberty Global and their investment partner InfraVia Capital Partners. Virgin Media O2 and Netomnia declined to comment.

What the deal would combine

Netomnia is described as the UK's fourth largest fibre broadband network, and among the largest of the altnets. Its full-fibre infrastructure is capable of 10Gbps speeds using XGS-PON technology, and it serves around 400,000 customers under the retail brands YouFibre and Brsk. Those customers would be integrated into Virgin Media O2's operations if the deal completes.

nexfibre currently passes about 2.4 million homes. Adding Netomnia would bring in roughly a further 3 million premises covered by fibre. Reports put the combined build at about 8 million homes, rising to around 20 million premises when Virgin Media O2's wider infrastructure, including its cable network, is taken into account.

Netomnia updated the market on its performance last week, reporting 2025 revenue of £104 million (€121 million) and take-up reaching 15%. The company is owned by investors Advencap, DigitalBridge and Soho Square Capital.

Any agreement would be subject to the usual regulatory scrutiny.

A market still led by BT

Even with Netomnia folded in, BT would keep the largest fibre and mobile networks in the country. Its semi-detached wholesale fixed infrastructure arm Openreach covers about 30 million premises, of which 21 million are fibre.

CityFibre, the largest of the altnets, had also expressed interest in acquiring Netomnia.

The move fits a wider pattern of consolidation among UK alternative networks. Many altnets carry heavy debts and have struggled to attract customers, and some may not find buyers at all. The trend has been compared to the earlier consolidation of regional cable companies decades ago, which eventually formed into a single operator under Liberty Global.

Sky raises objections

Not every rival is content to watch the deal proceed. Sky has publicly challenged the £2 billion tie-up between nexfibre and Netomnia, raising concerns about the effect on competition in the wholesale broadband market and on the smaller ISPs that rely on partnerships with larger networks. The objection lands alongside Virgin Media O2's moves to reshape its wholesale offering, a shift that has drawn mixed reactions across the sector, with larger providers potentially better placed to benefit than smaller ones.

Telefónica's London push

The reported bid comes as Telefónica builds out its presence in London. The group has opened a London office reporting directly to its group chief operating officer, led by Mario Martin, a 30-year Telefónica veteran who has worked on several major deals for the company.