Virgin Media O2 exploring £3bn deal to buy TalkTalk

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A deal that could be worth around £3bn to buy Salford-headquartered TalkTalk is being explored by Virgin Media O2. The broadband company was taken private in a £1.1bn deal that completed in March last year.

Virgin Media O2 was formed in June 2021 as a joint venture between Liberty Global and Telefónica. According to Sky News, Virgin Media O2 has already tabled a bid that would value TalkTalk, which is one of Britain’s biggest broadband providers, at about £3bn. READ MORE: Click here to sign up to the BusinessLive North West newsletter The news comes three months after reports that Sky and Vodafone were among potential bidders for the company.

TalkTalk was founded by Sir Charles Dunstone and was spun out of Carphone Warehouse in 2010. It is currently led by chief executive Tristia Harrison.

In its most recently available accounts, for the 12 months to February 28, 2021, TalkTalk reported a revenue of £1.3bn, down from the £1.5bn from the prior year.