“This is a genuinely unprecedented situation, where millions of citizens and businesses were at risk if TalkTalk had collapsed.”
A 2021 buyout loaded TalkTalk with debt, and it lost money on £1.2 billion in revenue. BT gets 2.5 million customers with none of that debt. A government public interest notice lets ministers weigh the rescue against competition concerns. The incumbent absorbs its rival and gets credit for saving it.