BT has agreed to sell its Irish wholesale and enterprise unit to Cordiant subsidiary Speed Fibre Group.
Reports of a potential sale first surfaced earlier this week.
The sale of BT Communications Ireland (BTCIL) will include BT’s domestic network infrastructure, more than 400 customers, and associated teams supporting the wholesale and business enterprises.
It will not include BTCIL’s multinational customer base, large Irish organizations, the Emergency Call Answering Service, associated employees, and the recently divested data center business.
The transaction will also comprise a long-term agreement for BT and Speed Fibre Group to source connectivity for respective customers from each other.
The transaction is subject to customary conditions including competition approval and is expected to close later this year.
The enterprise value of the put and call agreement for the acquisition of the share capital of BTCIL is €22 million ($22.9m).
“This acquisition enables us to deliver even greater value to our customers by expanding our range of connectivity solutions. It’s a positive development for the Irish market, providing us with the scale and capabilities to better serve our growing customer base,” said Peter McCarthy, CEO of Speed Fibre Group.
Bas Burger, CEO of Business, BT, added: “Today’s announcement is another key milestone in focusing our international business on what it does best: providing secure multi-cloud connectivity to large organizations globally and in Ireland. Our Irish wholesale and enterprise business unit, which has been a leading alternative provider for more than 30 years, will enter a new era with Speed Fibre Group.”
BT was advised on the transaction by Citi, PwC, and Simmons & Simmons. Cordiant and Speed Fibre Group were advised by McCann Fitzgerald, PwC, and Matheson.
Cordiant owns Speed Fibre Group, which includes Enet and the broadband provider Magnet Plus. Speed Fibre Group primarily invests in the core infrastructure of the digital economy - data centers, fiber optic networks, and telecommunication and broadcast towers in Europe and North America.
Founded in 1990, BT Ireland was originally called Esat Telecom, said to be an abbreviation of "Éireann Satellite." BT has been interested in a sale of its Irish unit for some time, with BT CEO Allison Kirkby reigniting plans to sell the unit last year, four years after her predecessor, Philip Jansen, scrapped a deal.
In October, the Irish Times reported that Macquarie-backed Viatel Technology Group was interested in buying BT Ireland.
The company has also been looking to sell its data center business. Just before Christmas, Equinix agreed to acquire BT Group's Irish data center business for €59 million ($60.9m), a deal expected to be completed during the first half of this year.
