InfraVia, Liberty Global and Telefónica acquire Substantial Group for £2bn

InfraVia, Liberty Global (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB, LBTYK) and Telefónica have agreed to acquire Substantial Group for £2 billion through their joint venture nexfibre, according to a company announcement.

Substantial Group, founded in 2019 and owned by investors Advencap, DigitalBridge and Soho Square Capital, operates as the UK's second largest alternative fiber provider. The company is expected to have more than 3.4 million fiber premises and over 500,000 customers by completion.

The transaction involves £1 billion in new net funding for nexfibre, with £850 million from InfraVia and £150 million jointly from Liberty Global and Telefónica. Virgin Media O2 will commit traffic on 4.6 million overlapping and adjacent homes.

Under the agreement, nexfibre will acquire Substantial Group's network operations while selling the retail business, including YouFibre and Brsk brands, to Virgin Media O2 for £150 million. The combined entity will create a fiber footprint of approximately 8 million premises by the end of 2027.

Virgin Media O2 will receive approximately £1.1 billion in cash and an indirect 15% stake in nexfibre in exchange for wholesale traffic commitments on 4.6 million premises. The company will also provide construction and managed services to nexfibre.

The transaction requires regulatory approvals and is expected to complete by the third quarter of 2026. Liberty Global and Telefónica were advised by Barclays and LionTree, InfraVia by Morgan Stanley, and nexfibre by TD Securities.

The acquisition combines nexfibre's existing network with Substantial Group's Netomnia fiber network and Virgin Media O2 premises upgrades. When combined with Virgin Media O2's fiber footprint, the two networks will collectively reach 20 million premises.

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