Virgin Media O2 and Daisy Group are to merge their complementary direct business-to-business operations into a single company serving the UK business communications and IT sector.
The new company comprises substantially all of Virgin Media O2 Business and Daisy Group. VMO2 will hold 70%, while Daisy Group will take a 30% stake.
Lutz Schüler, CEO of Virgin Media O2, said the combination would provide UK businesses of all sizes with the best digital and connectivity offerings. “Following completion, the new company will have the scale, talent, focus and infrastructure needed to drive digital transformation and provide business customers with an innovative one-stop shop for all their communications and IT needs. We can’t wait to get started on this next chapter in partnership with Daisy.”
The company will be led and chaired by Daisy Group founder, Matthew Riley, and Jo Bertram, Managing Director of Virgin Media O2 Business, as CEO. Management will be drawn from both businesses and will initially operate under their separate brands from their current office bases.
Daisy Group Founder and Chairman, Matthew Riley, commented: “This is a significant milestone in Daisy’s 24-year history. This transformational transaction will revolutionise the telecommunications and IT landscape and create the most comprehensive offering for businesses of all sizes across the UK.”
The new company will serve the communications and IT needs of hundreds of thousands of UK businesses – small offices, SMEs, large enterprises and public sector organisations, as well as indirect partners. It will have greater scale, expertise and focus, while boosting digital capabilities, benefitting from Virgin Media O2’s next generation fibre and mobile infrastructure, combined with Daisy’s end-to-end IT and sales management platforms and award-winning customer service.
Services will include cloud-based communications tools, 5G Private Networks, IoT connectivity, security solutions and AI-powered products, such as O2 Motion, catering to a broad mix of new and existing customers.
The company will be supported by fixed and mobile connectivity wholesale agreements with Virgin Media O2, and supplier arrangements with Telefónica and Liberty Global to deliver products and services from across the portfolio of those wider shareholder groups.
Virgin Media O2’s fixed and mobile wholesale operations, which include smart metering and connectivity to MVNO customers, will remain fully owned within Virgin Media O2.
Founded by Matthew Riley in 2001, Daisy Group is one of the UK’s largest independent, specialist communications businesses delivering a range of cloud, communications and IT solutions to companies across the country. Having expanded the business organically and through a series of acquisitions over the past two decades, Daisy Group is one of the country’s most successful growth stories.
