What is the Netomnia takeover and where does it stand?
The Netomnia takeover is a proposed £2bn deal in which nexfibre would buy Substantial, the company behind the Netomnia network and the YouFibre, Brsk and Brsk ISP brands. nexfibre is owned by Liberty Global, Telefónica and InfraVia, and Liberty Global and Telefónica also jointly own Virgin Media O2.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is looking at the Netomnia takeover in depth. According to its case page, it referred the deal for an in depth investigation on 1 July 2026, and its statutory deadline for a final decision is 15 December 2026.
On 2 October the CMA published the notice and summary of its interim report, with the full report and appendices following on 5 October. It said it had provisionally found competition concerns in the wholesale supply of fixed broadband services. That is a provisional finding, not a final ruling, and the CMA has not yet published its final decision.
What did nexfibre say about the Netomnia takeover on 20 October?
On 20 October, nexfibre and its shareholders said they do not plan to put any remedies to the CMA. Remedies are changes a company offers to settle a regulator’s concerns, such as commitments on investment or wholesale access. ISPreview reported the statement the same day.
In that statement the shareholders said “The CMA’s Interim Report is fundamentally flawed”. They said they had “engaged in good faith on potential remedies, including commitments on investment and wholesale access”, but that no remedies package could address the CMA’s current thinking, so they had not submitted one. They also argued the deal would unlock investment, which is their case to make and the CMA’s to weigh.
The CMA, meanwhile, published an invitation to comment on remedies on 20 October. It sets out the actions the CMA might take to deal with the concerns in its interim report. Anyone can send comments by 5pm on Tuesday 27 October 2026, and responses to the interim report itself are due by 5pm on Friday 23 October 2026.
So the Netomnia takeover is still open. The final decision belongs to the CMA, and we won’t guess at it here. The dates to watch are:
- 23 October: responses to the interim report are due.
- 27 October: comments on possible remedies are due.
- 15 December: the CMA’s statutory deadline for its final decision.
What does the Netomnia takeover mean if you are a YouFibre customer?
For now, nothing changes. The CMA describes the Netomnia takeover as an anticipated acquisition, which means the deal has not completed. Your provider is the same company it was last week, on the same contract you signed.
The same applies if you are with Brsk or Brsk ISP, which the CMA also lists as part of Substantial. Until the Netomnia takeover completes, those brands carry on as they are.
ISPreview puts YouFibre at around 500,000 customers and the Netomnia network at around 3.3 million premises covered. Those are ISPreview’s figures, not the CMA’s, but they give a sense of how many households sit on the network the CMA is looking at.
The honest advice is the boring advice, and it’s the same whatever the CMA decides. Check when your minimum term ends, what your monthly price is, and whether anything in your contract has changed lately. Our broadband contract check walks through what to look for, and our broadband loyalty penalty explainer covers why drifting out of contract tends to cost more.
If you decide to look around, the one touch switch guide explains how switching works on most home broadband lines. Doing nothing is always an option. It’s also the one your provider is counting on.
Why does a wholesale broadband deal matter to households?
Most people buy broadband from a retail brand, but many of those brands run over someone else’s network. Wholesale is where networks sell access to other providers, so a competition concern at wholesale level can eventually reach what you can choose and what you pay.
The CMA’s concern in the Netomnia takeover is framed at wholesale level, so it is about choice between networks rather than any one customer’s bill today. We haven’t seen a price attached to it in either source we read, so we haven’t invented one.
The same market moved again this month when BT acquired TalkTalk out of administration. We cover what that means for customers in our BT and TalkTalk takeover explainer.
Key takeaways
- The CMA provisionally found competition concerns in its interim report, published from 2 October. It has not made a final decision.
- nexfibre and its shareholders said on 20 October that they will not submit remedies.
- The CMA’s final deadline is 15 December 2026, and comments on remedies are due by 27 October.
- Nothing changes for YouFibre customers today, because the deal has not completed.
Frequently asked questions about the Netomnia takeover
- Has the Netomnia takeover been blocked?
- Not yet. The CMA has provisionally found competition concerns but has not published its final decision, which is due by 15 December 2026.
- Will my YouFibre price or contract change because of the Netomnia takeover?
- No change follows from the inquiry itself. The deal has not completed, so your contract and provider stay as they are. Check your own paperwork for your end date and price.
- Who owns nexfibre?
- The CMA says nexfibre is owned by Liberty Global, Telefónica and InfraVia. Liberty Global and Telefónica also jointly own Virgin Media O2.
- What are remedies in a merger inquiry?
- Remedies are actions or commitments that address a regulator’s competition concerns. The CMA has invited comments on the actions it might take, with a deadline of 5pm on 27 October.
- Can I still switch broadband provider while this is going on?
- Yes. The inquiry does not stop you switching. Check your minimum term first, because leaving early can cost money.
Sources
- CMA, nexfibre / Substantial merger inquiry case page, updated 20 October 2026: the parties and ownership, the anticipated acquisition wording, the 1 July referral date, the 15 December statutory deadline, the interim report dates and provisional finding, and both consultation deadlines.
- ISPreview, 20 October 2026: the shareholders’ statement and the quoted wording, the £2bn value, the roughly 500,000 YouFibre customers and 3.3 million premises covered. We took the quoted words from this report, not from the statement itself.
Checked 21 October 2026.
