The British company TalkTalk Telecom Group is currently selling its business-to-business unit to a specialized organization that is controlled by the main shareholders of these broadband Internet access providers.
This decision of the specified brand is due to its current state. The company is at the stage of breakup. For this reason, there is a sale of a unit that has the capacity for further functioning, but only within a different ownership structure.
On Monday, October 2, buyers of the division published a statement containing information that the sale of the business-to-business arm is estimated at 95 million pounds ($116 million). They also retain a wholesale agreement with another TalkTalk operation worth about 25 million pounds ($30.3 million) for three years.
The transaction, as a result of which the ownership will remain with the largest shareholders of TalkTalk, is characterized by experts as a preliminary action as part of efforts to refinance or sell the unit directly.
The reorganization plan of the telecommunications company, which found itself in an extremely difficult situation, provides for the division of a single structure into three arms, including a business-for-business, wholesale unit, and a consumer-oriented organization.
The broadband provider is facing approaching debt maturities that need to be refinanced, including a revolving credit line with banks and high-yield bonds worth about 685 million pounds ($831.5 million) maturing in February 2025.
TalkTalk bonds are currently trading at distressed levels, which exceeds the yield of sovereign bonds by more than 100 basis points.
Private investment company Toscafund Asset Management became the owner of a broadband access provider in 2020. The value of this transaction, including debt, amounted to about 2 billion pounds ($2.4 billion). The Internet provider faced such a problem as a reduction in the number of its customer base. Also, against the background of the massive transition from copper to fiber optics, the company found itself in a less advantageous position from the point of view of competitiveness, since in the conditions of new realities it lost the opportunity to offer consumers the most favorable prices as a reseller.
TalkTalk was founded in 2003. Initially, the company operated as a subsidiary of Carphone Warehouse, a mobile phone retailer, which in 2014 became part of the ownership structure of Currys, a firm specializing in the sale of electrical and telecommunications goods.
TalkTalk became an independent company in 2010. Initially, the brand was a provider of fixed-line telephone services, gradually starting to provide fixed and mobile telephone services and broadband access. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it entered the ownership structure of Toscafund Asset Management in 2021.
In March 2022, it became known that TalkTalk had acquired the London-based broadband network provider Virtual 1. In July of the same year, there were reports that Virgin Media O2 was considering an offer to buy the company. In November 2022, it became known that TalkTalk became the owner of a controlling stake in a broadband provider and a holding organization Telecom Acquisitions.
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