British telco Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) has announced a deal to create a new business-to-business company by merging its enterprise division with IT and telecoms reseller Daisy Group. The new joint venture will be 70% owned by VMO2, itself a JV between Spanish telco Telefonica and US media giant Liberty Global. The other 30% will […]
British telco Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) has announced a deal to create a new business-to-business company by merging its enterprise division with IT and telecoms reseller Daisy Group.
The new joint venture will be 70% owned by VMO2, itself a JV between Spanish telco Telefonica and US media giant Liberty Global. The other 30% will be owned by UK-based Daisy Group.
The combined unit will become a “new British business connectivity powerhouse”, according to VMO2 CEO Lutz Schüler, with combined revenues of around £1.4 billion.
“For us, it’s a big step forward in our journey to boost B2B growth and provide UK businesses of all sizes with the best digital and connectivity offerings,” Schüler added.
“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.”
The JV is set to be led by Daisy Group founder and chairman Matthew Riley and VMO2 MD of business Jo Bertram, who will become CEO.
It will offer cloud-based communications, 5G private networks, IoT connectivity, security solutions and AI products for businesses across the UK, leveraging VMO2’s fixed and mobile networks.
Daisy is a b2b provider of IT, communications and cloud services based in Nelson, Lancashire. It was founded by Riley in 2001 and became one of the UK’s largest connectivity reseller partners for several UK telcos, including O2 and rival Vodafone.
“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,” Riley said.
“Our new entity, which brings together two highly successful companies, will deliver a comprehensive solution for the fast-changing needs of UK organisations, supported by specialist teams that have a relentless focus on customer service.”
The merger was supported by Jefferies as financial adviser and Deloitte on the VMO2 side, and Houlihan Lokey and EY are acting as financial advisers, Pwc acting as tax advisers, on the Daisy side.
