CMA warns Nexfibre's £2bn Netomnia buyout could substantially damage UK broadband competition

From the Newshound archive · first published 2 October 2026.

Britain's competition watchdog has provisionally concluded that Nexfibre's £2 billion acquisition of rival fibre firm Netomnia could cause substantial damage to wholesale broadband market competition. Nexfibre, a joint venture backed by Liberty Global and Telefonica, has until October 16 to propose remedies to the CMA or face the deal being blocked. The regulator opened its full investigation earlier this year after Nexfibre announced the purchase of Netomnia's parent company Substantial in February.

Nexfibre argued the deal would extend its network to around eight million premises by 2027, creating a scaled rival to BT's Openreach.

The firm's shareholders warned the CMA's interim findings "do not reflect the commercial and competitive reality of Britain's fibre market".

Nexfibre says blocking the deal would shut out £3.5bn of international investment and cement Openreach's dominance over the UK's broadband infrastructure.