Digital infrastructure company Colt has announced the completed acquisition of Lumen EMEA for $1.8bn to increase its European footprint.
The closure of the transaction is the final stage in Colt’s partnership with Lumen Technologies to purchase Lumen’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business.
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Colt is a UK headquartered multinational telecommunications company. It was formerly a part of the FTSE 250 Index until it was acquired by Fidelity Investments in August 2015. The company has constructed telecoms networks in major European cities and the UK.
As part of the acquisition, Colt and Lumen Technologies will enter into a partnership agreement which sees Colt expand its telecoms network into the UAE, Eastern Europe and parts of Africa. Keri Gilder will stay on as Colt’s CEO.
The acquisition will bring 2,700 customers to Colt including blue chip corporations, leading enterprises and public sector customers.
The deal also grants Colt access to services via PoPs (Points of Presence) in Dubai, Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Kenya, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa and Turkey.
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By GlobalDataIn a survey of 1,100 senior IT decision-makers across APAC, Europe and the US, Colt found 44% planned to extend their digital infrastructure to Europe and 40% to APAC.
More than one in three (35%) plan to extend it to the Americas; 29% to the Middle East; and almost one in four (24%) plan to expand their network to Africa.
Commenting online in a blog post about the acquisition, GlobalData analyst Gary Barton said that though the deal does not substantially expand Colt’s telecommunications infrastructure, it does strengthen its standing in the region
“Colt does not gain significantly in terms of adding to the 32,000+ connected buildings it has in Europe, but Colt has strengthened its position as both a wholesale partner of choice in EMEA for telcos, telehouses, and hyperscalers,” Barton wrote.
“The challenge for Colt will be integrating network assets that have been built with different methodologies and to support different customer types,” he added.
