Sky has again been linked with a possible purchase of the business division of Sir Charles Dunstone’s TalkTalk.
The Comcast unit is said by The Sunday Times to be one of a number of players “actively engaged” in the bidding process for Business Direct. Daisy Group, the telecommunications firm led by Matthew Riley, is rumoured to be another contender. Notably, Daisy Group had come close to securing a deal for Business Direct in 2018, valuing it at £175 million; however, the transaction fell through.
The business division, which has 80,000 clients has been valued at around £150 million.
In 2021, Dunstone, in collaboration with the investment group Toscafund, privatised TalkTalk in a substantial £1.1 billion agreement.
Meanwhile, TalkTalk is undergoing a legal separation between its consumer division, housing four million broadband subscribers, and its wholesale division.
In March, talks with Virgin Media O2 over the takeover of the consumer business also collapsed. At the time there was also interest from Sky and Vodafone.
Originally established by Dunstone as a subsidiary of Carphone Warehouse in 2003, TalkTalk gained autonomy from its parent company in 2010 and maintained a listing on the London Stock Exchange for a decade.
