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The newly merged business will be one of the UK’s largest altnets with over 600,000 properties passed with fibre-to-the-home (FTTH)
Today, UK fibre altnets FullFibre and Zzoomm have announced they will merge their operations.
The deal will make the nearly combined entity one of the UK’s largest alternative fibre networks, with over 600,000 properties ready for service and over 65,000 existing customers.
According to the companies, the deal will create “significant opportunities to accelerate customer growth across a larger footprint, secure funding for new builds and future mergers, and achieve greater operational and financial efficiencies through economies of scale”.
Zzoomm founder and CEO Matthew Hare will be executive chairman of the new business, while FullFibre CEO Jame Warner will serve as the company’s Group CEO.
Financial details of the deal were not revealed.
“We have consistently stated our strategy is to grow organically and by M&A in this fragmented market,” explained Matthew Hare, CEO of Zzoomm. “An enlarged business with the operational and financial infrastructure, benefitting from the economies of scale, as well as a management team with an exceptional track record, we will have an excellent platform to combine with other Altnets in the near future as well as driving organic growth faster.”
Reports that Zzoomm was looking to pursue M&A first arose in September last year, with FullFibre tied to discussions by November.
FullFibre itself is no stranger to mergers. Back in 2023, the altnet announced it would merge with fellow fibre infrastructure provider Digital Infrastructure, a deal which included the latter’s ISP unit BeFibre. The move brought FullFibre’s premises ready for service to over 250,000.
“For FullFibre, this is our second merger and another milestone in our mission to create a 21st-century digital backbone for the nation,” added James Warner, CEO of FullFibre. “Following our recent successful integration with Digital Infrastructure and BeFibre, this next merger further accelerates our ambitions to lead the market and provide unmatched connectivity to homes, businesses, and wholesale partners alike.”
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