This week in the ICT Channel...

Comms Dealer magazine rounds up the top channel news that broke during the week.....

TalkTalk and stakeholder strike refinancing deal

TalkTalk has reached a ￡400m refinancing deal with its financial stakeholders and extended the maturities of its secured debt.

The transaction has been agreed between a group of SSN holders,?a group of RCF banks (together representing around 60% of the Company’s secured debt), Ares Management Funds and the Company’s major shareholders.

The company’s shareholders will immediately provide ￡65m of interim funding to the Group with ￡170m to follow.

“The proposed transaction will leave the Company well-funded to deliver the respective strategic plans of PXC and TalkTalk, continuing to capitalise on their strong positions in the market,” said a statement from the company.

The Company has also announced leadership changes with Tristia Harrison DBE to become a non-executive director of the Group.

James Smith , current Group CFO, will become Group CEO and will also become CEO of PXC, with Tom O'Hagan stepping up to a new role of executive chairman of PXC to focus on strategy and clients.

Susie Buckridge remains CEO of TalkTalk, the Group’s consumer business. Sir Charles Dunstone will continue in his role as Group Chairman.

CNA Awards 2024 - Book your table now!

The Comms National Awards, the channel’s most coveted awards extravaganza, are now closed for entries - So now is the time to beat the rush and book your table at the most extravagant awards event of the year!

In addition to tables and places, we have a limited number of VIP table packages where you can entertain your team and your customers in style with the best seats in the house! We also have sponsorship packages which deliver a fantastic amount of branding profile before, during and after the awards. Message Heather Miles to book your place or visit Comms National Awards (cnawards.com) for further details.

The event will take place at the Park Plaza Hotel, Westminster, on 26th September 2024, celebrating stand-out MSPs, channel partners, vendors, carriers, service providers and distributors. Don't miss out!

Bharti Global acquires 24.5% stake in BT Group

Indian conglomerate Bharti Global has reached an agreement to acquire the 24.5% stake in 英国电信集团 owned by Patrick Drahi’s Altice UK.?

Bharti Global will buy 10% of BT’s shares from Altice immediately with the purchase following regulatory approval.

Allison Kirkby , BT Chief Executive, said “We welcome investors who recognise the long-term value of our business, and this scale of investment from Bharti Global is a great vote of confidence in the future of BT Group and our strategy.?

“They have a strong track record of success in the sector, and I look forward to ongoing and positive engagement with them in the months and years to come."

Bharti Global owns Bharti Airtel, a telecoms group operating across India and Africa.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chair of Bharti Enterprises, said: “This investment demonstrates the confidence we have in BT and in the UK.

“Our own record of owning and operating telecom and broadband networks around the world is underpinned by placing customers, digital innovation, and operational efficiency at the heart of its business.”

Mittal states he has no interest in acquiring the entire company.

Graduates hail The Big Goal initiative

A nationwide five-a-side tournament, culminating in a finals day at St George’s Park – the home of England football – on November 1st coupled with individual sponsorship of Street Soccer Foundation Academies across the UK, has created top-notch social impact opportunities for sponsors of The Big Goal initiative.?

More importantly, the project’s central aim to change the lives of disadvantaged young people across the UK is working, as young Academy graduates and sponsor representatives were pleased to validate. Ashley Murphy, who participated in the Onecom sponsored Street Soccer Academy at Portsmouth FC’s Pompey for Life, told Comms Dealer: “The coaches have helped all of us with our confidence and we’ve all grown as people.”

Ashley now hopes to get into football coaching having gained better self-belief and the ability to push himself alongside a group of ‘friends for life’ he has made through the Academy.

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Cotton to lead UK&I channel for WithSecure

WithSecure (formerly F-Secure Business) has appointed Samantha Cotton as Head of Channel UK & Ireland as the company aims to bolster relations with existing partners.

Cotton will also steer growth for WithSecure’s partner network and build on growing demand for cyber security products and services.??

She joins WithSecure from Bitdefender and previously held Channel Manager roles at Claranet and e92plus.

Dean Porter with, Regional VP at WithSecure, said: “Good partnerships are at the heart of our business. This appointment underscores the importance we place in supporting our network of partners.”

Cotton added: “Businesses face a host of new challenges in discovering and acting on cyber threats. They need solutions which provide fast and effective action, and their partners are a vital lifeline in supporting them with this.”

Nuvola adds WAN acceleration to distie offering

Nuvola Distribution Limited has signed an agreement with Bridgeworks Ltd to add the storage networking company’s WAN acceleration solutions to its portfolio.

Bridgeworks’ WAN Acceleration technologies use AI, machine learning and data parallelisation to increase the speed and volume of data flows over wide area networks

The company has partnered with Nuvola to increase its sales reach across EMEA and boost its channel commitment.

Michael Lloyd , Nuvola CEO, said: ?We recognise Bridgeworks’ offerings could specifically address the pressing issue of WAN speed, particularly with encrypted data, thereby broadening our customer reach,”

“Given the sheer volume of data being transferred worldwide, our priority is to our partners to ensure that they have access to the most advanced solutions to guarantee it’s secure and timely delivery.”

Simon Marrion , Business Development Manager EMEA at Bridgeworks, added: “We understand the value of having strong business partnerships, and Nuvola has comprehensive knowledge about the diverse array of different reseller partners, their categories, and operating models.”

TD Synnex re-launches Cisco Security club in UK

TD SYNNEX has updated its Cisco Security Community for UK partners with access to additional support and services.

The UK Cisco Security Club builds on the success of a wider European initiative and will provide information and sharing of best practice.

Partners can enter at one of three levels and will receive rewards for their achievements in the form of additional rebates and incentives.

Members will also have access to exclusive events and opportunities to learn about and discuss current security challenges.

Simon Bennett , MD, Advanced Solutions, UK&I?TD?Synnex, said: “This will enable partners to deepen their technical knowledge and enhance their capability to sell Cisco Security solutions.”

Jon Sawdon , Director – Cisco Business Unit, UK,?TD?SYNNEX?added: “We see a big opportunity with Cisco in security and we want to give partners access to all of our combined expertise and support them in developing healthy business practices around Cisco security.”

Thanks for reading and we hope to see you back here next Friday for the latest news update. Be sure to subscribe at the top of this newsletter to get your copy.