UK broadband network Trooli has been acquired by Agnar UK Infrastructure Ltd, a newly incorporated entity headed by French nationals Elie Nammar and Maxime Buisson of Vauban Infrastructure Partners.
The takeover of one of the full-fibre broadband rivals of BT's Openreach arm is part of a wider trend of merger activity in the bloated UK altnet space.
Virgin Media O2 is rumoured to be weighing up a £3bn takeover of the UK’s largest altnet CityFibre, which Grindle said poses a “material threat to incumbent full-fibre provider BT Openreach.
Specifics of the Trooli deal have not been disclosed, though ISPreview noted that previous reports put a £100mln value on the value of its full-fibre broadband network, which spans over 200,000 homes across the south of England.
Companies House documentation shows that Joanna Louise Fissenden remains as company secretary, but all former directors have now resigned from the altnet, with Trooli DebtCo Ltd removed as a controlling shareholder and renamed as Whippet DebtCo Ltd.
“That new private financial investors have been found is a positive for the altnets and valuations thereof,” noted Robert Grindle, head of European TMT research at Deutsche Bank, who pointed out that Virgin Media O2 parent company Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA)'s Nexfibre group was also mulling a Trooli bid.