Virgin Media 02 is seeking outside investors to help fund its £5 billion newly created network company to challenge BT Group, according to a Bloomberg report.
The company plans to open up its existing fixed line network to wholesale via its new NetCo business, which is expected to be introduced during the first half of 2025.
Virgin Media 02 is working with advisers to raise at least £1 billion by selling a minority stake in the new venture, whose valuation could be more than £5 billion, sources have said.
The potential stake sale, which could range from 20 per cent to 40 per cent, could kick off as soon as October, the report said. The company, jointly owned by Liberty Global and Telefonica SA, is targeting infrastructure, private equity, pension and sovereign wealth funds.
Deliberations are ongoing and details such as timing and fundraising size could change, the sources said. Representatives for Liberty Global and Telefonica declined to comment.
Virgin Media 02 announced plans in February to spin out its cable and fibre network, which serves 16 million homes, into a wholly owned new network company. The new netco “creates a distinct, focused fixed wholesale challenger at scale” to better compete with BT Openreach, it said at the time.