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LONDON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - British broadband supplier
TalkTalk said it had agreed to sell its fibre network,
which initially built ultra-fast connections in the northern
city of York, to Goldman Sachs-backed CityFibre for 200 million
pounds ($260 million).
TalkTalk said it had agreed a wholesale agreement with
CityFibre for its residential and business customers in the
areas in which it builds networks, a deal that would help
underpin the fibre network operator's expansion.
TalkTalk started laying its own fibre optic cables in a
trial, initially with broadband rival Sky, to challenge national
operator BT, which had been criticised for dragging its
heels in building its own fibre-to-the-premises networks.
It created a new company called FibreNation in 2018, which
had ambitions to build a network serving 3 million premises.
The sale of FibreNation to CityFibre was delayed late last
year when the opposition Labour Party pledged to nationalise
BT's Openreach network if it won a December election, a move
that would have upended the broadband market. The threat was
removed with a decisive victory by Boris Johnson's
Conservatives.
TalkTalk Chief Executive Tristia Harrison said the deal was
good for TalkTalk and for Britain and its full-fibre ambition.
"The sale of FibreNation to CityFibre, in combination with a
competitive wholesale agreement, enables us to continue our
strategy to accelerate TalkTalk's fibre growth for our
residential and business customers, thereby delivering a
superior customer experience at an affordable price," she said.
The price was in line with media reports.
TalkTalk's shares were flat at 0802 GMT.
($1 = 0.7689 pounds)
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by James Davey and Kate
Holton)
