Telefónica and Liberty Global have plans to acquire UK broadband network, Netomnia, in a deal worth approximately £2BN.
Announced by the FT earlier today, this acquisition will allow the joint Virgin Media O2 Owners to increase their overall customer base, narrowing the gap between them and market leader BT’s Openreach.
This acquisition is expected to support greater network scale and reach for VMO2, however reduces the chance for smaller providers to experience long-term competitiveness and valuable customer growth as the UK broadband market consolidates.
Discussions had previously risen in October 2025 of a potential Netomnia acquisition to be valued around £2BN.
These early talks involved combining Netomnia’s network with VMO2 and Nexfibre, with backing from VMO2's owners and private equity firm IfraVia Capital.
At the time, Netomnia was reportedly in talks with several other bidders such as CityFibre, the UK’s largest alternative network operator.
As of 2025, VMO2 owned a broadband market share of 30%, 5% behind market leader BT.
By acquiring Netomnia, VMO2 could expand its footprint in the marketspace by investing in a network provider that has frequently targeted disregarded broadband areas across the UK.
Today, this deal is close at hand, with IfraVia Capital joining the owners to acquire the broadband network for roughly £2BN.
InfraVia Capital also owns broadband provider Nexfibre with Telefónica and Liberty Global, making this latest acquisition the latest endeavor in their partnership.
Following this, Netomnia’s fiber network will be brought under one combined set up, with Netomnia currently covering 3 million homes, this will increase the combined fiber network footprint to roughly 8 million.
Furthermore, this acquisition will allow VMO2 to expand its potential customer base to roughly 20 million homes nationwide, just 10 million shy of BT’s coverage.
This would place the competitor in a stronger position to narrow the size gap with BT’s Openreach, further establishing itself as a primary UK broadband provider.
With the deal currently unable to be confirmed publicly, the FT reports that an official announcement may come later this week.
What This Acquisition Will Mean for Customers
By expanding their fiber broadband reach, customers in untargeted areas could gain access to stronger services.
Gaining a larger infrastructure would allow customers more choice in service provider options with competitive pricings.
By integrating Netomnia’s Brsk and YouFibre brands into VMO2’s systems, they can update their service plans, billing, or support arrangements that are more targeted to the customer they are trying to sell to.
This can drive investments in network upgrades, given the combined companies’ ability to scale more effectively when building out fiber infrastructure.