BT eyes rescue bid for troubled rival TalkTalk after low satisfaction ratings spark a customer exodus

Daily Mail​

a day ago

BT is thought to be among a host of major telecoms firms considering takeover
bids for troubled rival Talk Talk as its finances come under pressure.
Salford-based Talk Talk, which is run by entrepreneur Sir Charles Dunstone, was rescued from collapse by its shareholders last year when they pumped in £235million to keep the business afloat.
But the broadband provider has been struggling once again as low satisfaction ratings have prompted an exodus of disgruntled customers.
Talk Talk lost 400,000 users last year and sits at the bottom of satisfaction rankings compiled by the industry regulator Ofcom.
The company's mounting difficulties have left it prey to larger rivals in the UK's fiercely competitive broadband market.
Takeover talk: BT is thought to be considering a bid for troubled rival Talk Talk which lost 400,000 users last year and sits at the bottom of satisfaction rankings
'Every telecoms company in Britain will be looking at Talk Talk right now,' an industry source said.
BT may be interested in bailing out Talk Talk as most of the company's broadband customers use the telecoms giant's Openreach network.
But Talk Talk's decline had coincided with a drop in the number using Openreach, depriving BT of rental payments which it charges for using the network.
It also threatens to boost rival broadband providers that are hoovering up Talk Talk's unhappy users.
Firms such as CityFibre and Gigaclear have poured billions into building their networks of internet cables across the UK in a bid to compete against the dominance of Openreach.
As a result of Talk Talk's difficulties in keeping its customers, Openreach has reportedly threatened that it will block the firm from putting new customers on its network.
Discussions about a possible bid are thought to be underway at BT but a formal approach has yet to be made, according to the Telegraph. BT declined to comment.
Rival Virgin Media O2 also previously considered a bid for Talk Talk to boost its own broadband business.
Any takeover is likely to attract intense scrutiny from the competition watchdog as it would tighten their grip over the broadband market.
But any potential bidder will be aiming to secure the support of Ofcom, which is thought to be monitoring Talk Talk closely due to fears its collapse would leave millions in limbo over their broadband services.