Telecoms

Q1 2023 saw 20 deals in the Telecoms sector. This was a small decline from the previous quarter (24 deals) with deal activity showing a steady decline over the last few years since a high in Q3 2021 . Notable deals executed during Q1 2023 include:

• Broadband provider Grain Connect received an estimated £131m of development capital from Pinnacle Group, Albion Capital, and Equitix
• Skybox Security received £40.8m of development capital from CVC Capital Partners, Pantheon Ventures, and J.P. Morgan

The deals activity in this sector has been influenced by:

• FTTP – companies, such as Grain Connect, have sought investment to fund the rollout of Fibre-to-the-Premises across the UK to consolidate their position.
• Cybersecurity – companies are seeking to protect their communication networks from cyberattacks and security breaches which could result in penalties, loss of trust and lost revenue.

From a restructuring perspective we see growing financial stress, albeit formal restructuring activity in this sector remains at moderate levels. We are however watching the UK ‘altnet’ market closely acknowledging that whilst private investors have invested heavily in c50 market participants in recent years, none are yet claiming to be cash generative and profitable. We anticipate financial distress emerging in the coming quarters and the likely exit or elimination of certain players.