Nexfibre, a joint venture between Liberty Global, Telefonica, and InfraVia Capital Partners, initiated the request for a fast-track process to balance regulatory scrutiny with market urgency. CEO Rajiv Datta stated the company intends to work closely with the CMA throughout the process. The regulator emphasized that advancing to a deeper probe does not indicate a prior finding of anti-competitive behavior.

The deal, which involves acquiring the U.K.'s second-largest alternative fiber network from owners Advencap, DigitalBridge, and Soho Square Capital, is designed to create a massive fiber platform. Following the acquisition, Nexfibre plans to divest Substantial’s retail brands, YouFibre and Brsk, to Virgin Media O2 for 150 million pounds, while retaining the wholesale operations of Netomnia.