A £500m bid by Jersey Telecom to take over Manx Telecom has reportedly moved a step closer.
Sky News has reported that private equity giant CVC Capital Partners is being lined up to help finance a takeover of Manx Telecom by JT Group, which owns Jersey Telecom.
Telecoms industry sources believe a deal could be agreed within a matter of weeks.
Manx Telecom, whose headquarters are in the Isle of Man Business Park, is the island’s leading telecommunications provider and operates and maintains phone and internet infrastructure as well as mobile networks and data centres.
The company also has a store on Strand Street, Douglas.
It emerged late last year that Manx Telecom was accepting bids for the firm with a view to a potential takeover and that the JT Group was engaged in discussions about a potential purchase.
According to Manx Radio, that Isle of Man Government was given the opportunity to buy Manx Telecom, but the offer was turned down.
Manx Telecom is currently owned by Basalt Infrastructure Partners, an independent infrastructure investment firm which acquired the island’s telecoms firm in 2019 in a £255m deal.
Founded in 1888, JT Group, which is parent company of Jersey Telecom and Wave Telecom, is 100% owned by the States of Jersey.
Sky News reports that CVC DIF's involvement in the prospective deal comes seven months after JT Group held an earlier set of talks aimed at taking control of Manx Telecom.
CVC’s private equity investments include Six Nations rugby and the insurance company Domestic & General.
A spokesperson for MT said: ’As part of our standard practice, we do not comment on speculation or unverified information.’
A spokesman for CVC declined to comment.