The sale of TalkTalk’s direct B2B business to Daisy Group has fallen through, just over a month after the two parties agreed a £175 million deal.
TalkTalk told the London Stock Exchange that it had agreed not to proceed with the transaction and that it would continue to manage all direct B2B business. It added that customer service would not be interrupted.
The reason for the collapse is not clear and TechRadar Pro has contacted both TalkTalk and Daisy for comment. Shares in TalkTalk fell by 4.4 per cent in the aftermath of the announcement.
TalkTalk Daisy Group
The unit only accounted for a fifth of TalkTalk Business’s revenue and it was hoped the sale would generate cash for the company as it returned to its ‘challenger’ roots. It would also have allowed it to focus on its core B2B markets, partner and wholesale, which account for the remaining 80 per cent of sales.
As for Daisy Group, it has completed more than 50 other acquisitions since its foundation in 2001.
It can trace its roots back to Pipex, one of the first commercial ISPs in the UK, and originally offered communications services, such as voice calls, hosting and broadband, but like the rest of the industry, it has looked beyond traditional revenue sources for growth.
It offers a range of IT services, including cloud, unified communications and security, and has a significant channel business. There has been speculation that it could shelve plans for an IPO and seek a buyer in a deal with as much as £1 billion.
Potential suitors are unclear, but Vodafone and Virgin Media’s parent company Liberty Global have been touted
