Telford communications network provider Entanet snapped up in £29 million deal

Stafford Park-based Entanet, which provides a data and communications network all over Great Britain, is to be taken over by CityFibre as part of a plan by the London company to raise £200 million to expand its business.

CityFibre is setting itself out as a rival to BT's Openreach division, and provides communications infrastructure. It plans to sell £185 million worth of shares and to raise £15 million by a subscription offer.

The plan will see it set out to aggressively expand its fibre-to-the-home network, meaning it will supply fibre broadband directly to people's houses.

The takeover of Entanet is intended to significantly enhance the stock market-listed company's fibre capabilities and enhance its growth potential.

It will offer Entanet's wholesale offering to a national portfolio of more than 1,500 communication providers and address the growing demand for better communication and digital infrastructure among British businesses.

Entanet – which is not connected to Entatech, the IT distributor which is also based on Stafford Park and which was bought out of administration in May – has invested £3 million to upgrade its network since 2014.

It has data and voice infrastructure stretching from Glasgow in the north to London in the south, and from Cardiff in the west to Cambridge in the west.

Entanet chief executive Elsa Chen said: “Our partners will soon be able to take a strong, compelling and highly competitive proposition to the market, reaping the rewards of CityFibre’s national full fibre infrastructure footprints and next generation products.

"They will continue to enjoy the full support of Entanet’s long-established and mature channel strategy and its reputation for providing exceptional partner support services.

"Together, we are creating a new breed of wholesale service provider that will empower channel partners to change the connectivity market landscape. We’re extremely excited about the opportunities we can bring to the channel with this transaction.”

The expansion plan comes after a trial project for fibre-to-the-home networks in York, where its partners included media giant Sky.

It is now set to roll that out in another five cities early next year, and to increase the number of towns and cities in which it has a significant network from 42 to 50.

CityFibre chief executive Greg Mesch added: “With Entanet now part of the CityFibre family, our combined offering will accelerate the take-up of services over our growing network footprints, leveraging Entanet’s enviable channel partner network and continuing to transform digital connectivity for thousands of UK businesses.”