The purchase comes less than a month after rival Virgin Media was bought for $23 billion, and is expected to make BSkyB the second-largest broadband provider in the UK.
The deal also includes O2’s fixed-lined telephone business and a further £20 million could potentially be payable if Telefónica’s customer migration is successfully executed.
“From a standing start in 2006, we have added more than 4.2 million broadband customers,” said Jeremy Darroch, chief executive of BSkyB.
“The acquisition of Telefónica UK’s consumer broadband and fixed-line telephony business will help us accelerate this growth.”
The deal is expected to greatly benefit Telefónica following a reported 27.3% drop in full-year net profit for 2012.
Telefónica Deutschland also reported a slow in revenue growth earlier this week.
“As we focus on delivering best-in-class mobile connectivity, including next-generation (4G) services, we believe this agreement is the best way of helping our customers get the highest quality home broadband experience from a leading organisation in the market,” said Ronan Dunne, chief executive of Telefónica UK.
The acquisition is due for completion at the end of April, subject to regulatory clearance.
