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The lead bidder, Epiris, for part of the debt-ridden TalkTalk Group, which is now in the final stage of its turbulent efforts to dispose of both their consumer broadband ISP business and the PXC (PlatformX Communications) wholesale business, has reportedly asked network supplier Openreach (BT) to waive several months of payments to support a rescue deal.
Just to recap. Private equity firm Epiris have been attempting to secure a deal for TalkTalk’s wholesale-focused PXC business since Octopus Investments retreated from an earlier bid. Epiris is also in the middle of a separate £1bn+ takeover bid for London-listed business ISP Gamma Communications (here), which if successful could potentially share substantial financial synergies with PXC.
Meanwhile the TalkTalk Group, which is being advised by PJT Partners, are understood to have appointed Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) to help dispose of both their consumer and wholesale businesses using a pre-pack administration process. TalkTalk’s consumer business is also strongly linked to PXC’s wholesale products, thus any deal for one side of the business or the other would need a complementary agreement.