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LONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - British broadband provider
TalkTalk said on Friday that a deal to sell its
FibreNation business had stalled after the opposition Labour
Party announced a plan to create a "British Broadband" public
service.
Labour's plan would bring part of telecoms provider BT
back into state ownership if it won Britain's December 12
election.
TalkTalk said it was still in discussions with interested
parties regarding its FibreNation business.
"Our discussions are very advanced, and yes, the news
overnight of course is making everybody in the sector pause and
consider," Chief Executive Tristia Harrison told Reuters.
"We were really close, really close, but I think something
of this sort that is in the news, obviously everybody is
pausing, considering, digesting and working out what it means."
TalkTalk launched FibreNation last year and said it would
connect 60,000 more homes in northern England with fibre,
underlining its ambition to build its own ultrafast network
reaching three million customers after it abandoned a plan to
team up with M&G Prudential.
Sky News reported that CityFibre Holdings nearly signed a
deal to acquire FibreNation on Thursday.
Goldman Sachs-backed CityFibre has network projects in more
than 50 cities, with the aim of connecting 5 million homes with
fibre connections.
Broadband companies in the UK have been looking to take
advantage of a plan pledged by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to
"end the digital divide" through the rollout of full fibre
broadband by 2025.
Labour's plan, announced late on Thursday, was not directly
addressed by TalkTalk in interim results the firm published on
Friday.
The group reported a 14% increase in like-for-like earnings
before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and
reiterated its earnings outlook for the year.
"We're pleased that our clear strategy to accelerate
customer growth in Fibre broadband while also reducing costs has
led to a significant increase in profitability in the first
half," CEO Harrison said in a statement.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Jason Neely)