EU Commission Merger Approval: DigitalBridge / TCGL / County Broadband / Freedom Fibre / Truespeed

EC Competition Cases

Published March 12th, 2026

Detected March 13th, 2026

Summary

The European Commission has approved the proposed concentration involving DigitalBridge, TCGL, County Broadband, Freedom Fibre, and Truespeed. The decision, made under Article 6(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation, signifies non-opposition to the merger.

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What changed

The European Commission has issued a decision (Case M.12352) granting non-opposition to a proposed concentration involving DigitalBridge Group, Inc., Truespeed Communications Group Limited (TCGL), County Broadband Limited, Freedom Fibre Limited, and Truespeed Limited. The decision, made pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004, declares the operation compatible with the internal market and the EEA Agreement. The notification was received on 18 February 2026, and the decision was made on 12 March 2026.

This decision means the merger can proceed without further opposition from the Commission. The parties involved are primarily engaged in digital infrastructure investment and fibre broadband network operations within the UK. No specific compliance actions are required from regulated entities beyond the completion of the merger itself, as this is a final approval of a specific transaction.

Source document (simplified)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DG Competition Case M.12352 - DIGITALBRIDGE / TCGL / COUNTY BROADBAND / FREEDOM FIBRE / TRUESPEED Only the English text is available and authentic. REGULATION (EC) No 139/2004 MERGER PROCEDURE Article 6(1)(b) NON-OPPOSITION Date: 12/03/2026 In electronic form on the EUR-Lex website under document number 32026M12352

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 12.3.2026 C(2026) 1827 final PUBLIC VERSION Truespeed Communications Group Limited 80 Fenchurch Street London, EC3M 4AE United Kingdom DigitalBridge Group Inc. 590 Madison Avenue, 34th Floor New York, New York 10022 United States Subject: Case M.12352 – DIGITALBRIDGE / TCGL / COUNTY BROADBAND / FREEDOM FIBRE / TRUESPEED Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 () and Article 57 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area () Dear Sir or Madam, (1) On 18 February 2026, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation, by which the undertakings Truespeed Communications Group Limited (‘TCGL’, United Kingdom), controlled by Aviva Plc (‘Aviva’, United Kingdom), and DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (‘DigitalBridge’, United States), will acquire, within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation, joint control over the whole of the undertakings County Broadband Limited (‘County Broadband’), currently solely controlled by Aviva, Freedom Fibre Limited (‘Freedom Fibre’), currently jointly controlled by DigitalBridge and Equitix Holdings Limited (‘Equitix’, United Kingdom), and Truespeed Communications () OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’). With effect from 1 December 2009, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’) has introduced certain changes, such as the replacement of ‘Community’ by ‘Union’ and ‘common market’ by ‘internal market’. The terminology of the TFEU will be used throughout this decision. () OJ L 1, 3.1.1994, p. 3 (the ‘EEA Agreement’).

Limited (‘Truespeed’, United Kingdom), currently solely controlled by Aviva, by way of purchase of shares. () (2) The business activities of the undertakings concerned and the joint ventures are the following: – DigitalBridge is a dedicated, global scale digital infrastructure investment firm that invests, directly and through its managed funds and portfolio companies, in five key areas: (i) data centres; (ii) cell towers; (iii) fibre networks; (iv) small cells; and (v) edge infrastructure, – TCGL is a holding company of Truespeed and County Broadband. It is solely controlled by Aviva, a UK incorporated company operating in the insurance sector, mainly in the UK, Ireland and Canada, – County Broadband is a fibre-to-the-premises (‘FTTP’) provider which is active in the operation of fibre broadband networks in both urban and rural areas in the UK only, – Freedom Fibre is a UK FTTP provider which is active in the operation of fibre broadband networks in both urban and rural areas in the UK only, – Truespeed is a FTTP provider which is active in the operation of fibre broadband networks in both urban and rural areas in the UK only. (3) After examination of the notification, the European Commission has concluded that the notified operation falls within the scope of the Merger Regulation and of paragraph 5(a) of the Commission Notice on a simplified treatment for certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004. () (4) For the reasons set out in the Notice on a simplified treatment, the European Commission has decided not to oppose the notified operation and to declare it compatible with the internal market and with the EEA Agreement. This decision is adopted in application of Article 6(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation and Article 57 of the EEA Agreement. For the Commission (Signed) Linsey MCCALLUM Director-General (acting) Directorate-General for Competition () OJ C, C/2026/1255, 26.2.2026 () OJ C 160, 5.5.2023, p. 1 (the ‘Notice on a simplified treatment’).