REG - Cordiant Digital Inf - Speed Fibre Acquisition of BT Ireland Business

Cordiant Digital InfrastructureAnnouncement

05/02/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 8969V  Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Ltd  05 February 2025

5 February 2025

LEI: 213800T8RBBWZQ7FTF84

 

Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited

Speed Fibre Acquisition of BT Ireland Business

 

Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited (the "Company" or "CORD"), the
operationally focused investor specialising in digital infrastructure, managed
by Cordiant Capital Inc. ("Cordiant", or the "Investment Manager"), is pleased
to announce that a subsidiary of its portfolio company, Speed Fibre DAC
("Speed Fibre"), has entered into a put and call agreement to acquire the
entire issued share capital of BT Communications Ireland Limited ("BTCIL"),
the wholesale and enterprise business unit of BT Ireland, for an enterprise
value of €22 million.

The acquisition is expected to enhance Speed Fibre's ability to deliver
advanced connectivity solutions through the integration of BTCIL's
complementary capabilities and domestic customer base. By combining resources,
Speed Fibre expects to achieve greater operational efficiencies and deliver a
broader range of connectivity products and services for customers across
Ireland. This transaction positions Speed Fibre for sustainable growth and
aligns with the Company's Buy, Build & Grow model, through continued
investment in its portfolio companies.

BTCIL provides wholesale fibre and B2B connectivity, with c.3,400 km of
managed fibre, and services c.400 customers in the telecoms, enterprise and
government sectors across Ireland. BTCIL generated core adjusted 1  (#_ftn1)
revenues of €57.6 million in the 12 months ending 30 September 2024. Pro
forma core adjusted(1) revenues for the combined Speed Fibre and BTCIL group
would have been €144.8 million in the same period. The transaction excludes
BTCIL's customer base of multinationals and financial institutions, the
emergency call answering service, together with associated employees, which
will be separately carved out, and the recently divested data centre business,
thereby ensuring a focused operational business in Ireland for Speed Fibre
post-closing.

Following completion, BT will remain a key customer of the combined business
under 3-year agreements.

The transaction is conditional upon the receipt of satisfactory regulatory
approvals and completion of the carve out of BT's global business in Ireland.
It is expected to close later in 2025.

The purchase consideration is subject to customary adjustments. The
acquisition is expected to be financed by Speed Fibre's existing cash
resources, its senior revolving credit facility and cash from CORD.

Steven Marshall, Executive Chairman of Cordiant Digital Infrastructure
Management, and Benn Mikula, CEO of Cordiant Capital, said:

"This transaction is an important addition to our Speed Fibre platform,
representing a significant step in our strategy to build scale in key digital
markets such as Ireland. BT Communications Ireland's capabilities complement
Speed Fibre's existing operations, enhance our ability to support the growing
connectivity needs of Irish businesses and align with CORD's investment
strategy."

 

Peter McCarthy, CEO, Speed Fibre Group, said:

"We are excited to welcome BT Communications Ireland into the Speed Fibre
Group family. This acquisition, when completed, will enable us to deliver even
greater value to our customers by expanding our range of connectivity
solutions. It is a positive development for the Irish market, that we expect
to provide us with the scale and capabilities to better serve our growing
customer base."

 

Shay Walsh, Managing Director, BT Ireland, said:

"We have transformed our operations in Ireland over the past eighteen months
to position our various business units for future growth. This new chapter
will see BT focusing on multinationals and large organisations in Ireland with
Speed Fibre as its wholesale network and national services partner. Through
this transaction, I am confident that the complementary strengths of both
entities will unlock new opportunities, drive innovation, and sustain
long-term growth in the Irish telecommunications market"

 

For further information, please visit www.cordiantdigitaltrust.com
(http://www.cordiantdigitaltrust.com) or contact:

 Cordiant Capital Inc.                                    +44 (0) 20 7201 7546

 Investment Manager

 Stephen Foss, Managing Director
 Aztec                                                    +44 (0) 1481 749700

 Company Secretary and Administrator

 Chris Copperwaite / Laura Dunning

 Celicourt                                                +44 (0) 20 7770 6424

 PR Adviser

Philip Dennis / Ali AlQahtani / Charles Denley-Myerson

 

Notes to Editors:

About the Company

Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited primarily invests in the core
infrastructure of the digital economy: data centres; fibre-optic networks;
telecommunications and broadcast towers - in Europe and North America.
Further details about the Company can be found on its website
at www.cordiantdigitaltrust.com (http://www.cordiantdigitaltrust.com/) .

 

The Company is a sector-focused specialist owner and operator of digital
infrastructure, listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CORD. In
total, the Company has successfully raised £795 million in equity, along with
a €375 million debt package comprising a €200 million Eurobond and €175
million of committed capex and revolving facilities, deploying capital into
five acquisitions: CRA, Hudson, Emitel, Speed Fibre and Norkring (with two
further connected acquisitions, DCU Invest and DCU Brussels, announced and
expected to close in early 2025), which together offer stable, often
index-linked income, and the opportunity for growth, in line with the
Company's Buy, Build & Grow model

 

About the Investment Manager

Cordiant Capital Inc is a specialist global infrastructure and real assets
manager with a sector-led approach to providing growth capital solutions to
promising mid-sized companies in Europe, North America and selected global
markets. Since the firm's relaunch in 2016, Cordiant, a partner-owned and
partner-run firm, has developed a track record of exceeding mandated
investment targets for its clients.

 

Cordiant focuses on the next generation of infrastructure and real assets:
sectors (digital infrastructure, energy transition infrastructure and the
agriculture value chain) characterised by growth tailwinds and technological
dynamism. It also applies a strong sustainability and ESG overlay to its
investment activities.

 

With a mix of managed funds offering both value-add and core strategies in
equity and direct lending, Cordiant's sector investment teams (combining
experienced industry executives with traditional private capital investors)
work with investee companies to develop innovative, tailored financing
solutions backed by a comprehensive understanding of the sector and
demonstrated operating capabilities. In this way, Cordiant aims to provide
value to investors seeking to complement existing infrastructure equity and
infrastructure debt allocations.

 

About Speed Fibre

Speed Fibre is an open access fibre infrastructure provider in the Republic of
Ireland and includes the businesses of Enet and Magnet Plus. Further details
about Speed Fibre can be found on its website at www.speedfibregroup.ie
(http://www.speedfibregroup.ie/)

Enet is the manager of Ireland's 88 metropolitan area networks (MANs) - fibre
rings that connect 94 large regional towns to high-speed international
networks.  Aside from managing the MANs, under a government concession, Enet
has a managed services contract for Irish Rail's long-distance fibre backhaul
network. It also owns key infrastructure such as the T5 ring which circles the
M50 and connects many of the country's biggest data centres. In total, Enet
manages or owns 5,600km of fibre. The concession to run the MANs lasts
until March 2030.

Magnet Plus operates an independent connectivity network. It provides
connectivity for some of the world's biggest technology companies, as well as
telecommunications, data connectivity, and security services to both
commercial and residential markets in Ireland, throughout Europe, the US and
beyond.

About BTCIL

BT Communications Ireland Limited (BTCIL) is one of the main alternative fixed
line communications providers in Ireland. The business currently provides
communications solutions to domestic and wholesale telecommunications
operators, government departments and enterprise customers delivering
networking, voice, data, security and managed services. BTCIL's B2B business
has historically been focused on serving global multinational companies. This
element of its business will be retained by BT going forward and continue to
operate in Ireland.

 1  (#_ftnref1) BTCIL revenues adjusted for exclusion of exiting customer and
non-core products.

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