Virgin Media responds to BT’s acquisition of TalkTalk

Following the announcement that BT will acquire TalkTalk, a Virgin Media spokesperson said: “This has all the characteristics of a stitch up masked as a rescue deal in the public interest. Just days after the competition regulator proposed potentially blocking a logical deal between nexfibre and Netomnia that would accelerate fibre investment and create a genuine, financially sustainable challenger to Openreach, it now appears that rules might be watered down so the incumbent can roll its tanks over competition and further tighten its grip on the market.

“The logic simply doesn’t add up. We don’t believe rules should be thrown out the window to allow TalkTalk to fall into BT’s lap without a proper process and we will be raising our concerns directly with government and regulators.”