TalkTalk: Britische Regierung interveniert bei BT-Übernahme
Der britische Festnetzbetreiber hat mehrere Monate nach einem Käufer gesucht. Nun will BT einspringen, doch die Regierung in London hat Bedenken – und will den Deal prüfen lassen.
London has seen the British government intervene in BT's acquisition of the insolvent fixed-line operator TalkTalk. Minister for Culture, Media and Digital, Lisa Nandy, stated that a failure of negotiations could disrupt telecommunications connections for public institutions and vulnerable customers. She has therefore intervened and requested an accelerated review of the transaction by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The outcome is expected by October 19th. Notably, TalkTalk's network is utilized for emergency calls in the UK, as well as communication between emergency services. BT also owns the largest British landline operator, Openreach, and offers telephone and internet connections under the BT, EE, and Plusnet brands. BT claims the acquisition's value at around £472 million, which would be the only realistic option to continue providing internet connections to 2.5 million TalkTalk customers.
BT chief Allison Kirkby emphasized this point. TalkTalk had been searching for a buyer for several months before resorting to BT's acquisition. The insolvent company had been collaborating with Openreach for a long time and is one of BT's largest corporate clients.
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