Nexfibre Shareholders Say UK Watchdog's Report on Netomnia Deal is 'Fundamentally Flawed'

03:07 AM EDT, 10/20/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Nexfibre shareholders Telefónica (TEF.MC), InfraVia Capital Partners, and Liberty Global said the UK competition regulator's interim report on Nexfibre's proposed acquisition of Netomnia is "fundamentally flawed," saying that its assumptions do not reflect market conditions. The Competition and Markets Authority's "conclusions rely on counterfactuals that do not reflect the commercial and financial reality of the UK fiber market," the shareholders said in a joint statement emailed to MT Newswires on Tuesday. They also disputed the CMA's assumptions that CityFibre would acquire Netomnia and that the deal's planned investment of 3.5 billion pounds sterling would take place regardless of the acquisition. The companies said that BT Group's (BT-A.L) completed acquisition of TalkTalk is shrinking the available wholesale market, while CityFibre's latest accounts and debt restructuring raise further questions about its financial viability. "We engaged in good faith on potential remedies, including commitments on investment and wholesale access. But there is no remedies package that can address the CMA's current counterfactuals, and on that basis we have not submitted one," the shareholders said, adding that they remain committed to engage positively with the regulator once its assumptions reflect market conditions. "The CMA is inviting feedback on the inquiry group's interim report and a final decision will be made once any views received have been assessed," a CMA spokesperson told MT Newswires when reached for comment.