Irish alternative telecoms operator Digiweb has purchased UK-based Viatel for an undisclosed sum, creating an enlarged pan-European group with revenues of USD78 million, profits of USD10 million and a workforce of more than 200 people.
The Digiweb Group now boasts operations in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy, and from its base in Dublin claims to be able to provide enterprise, wholesale and government customers with multi-site, multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) networks, IP and traditional voice services, cloud computing, and data centre services. The group will now be able to deliver managed voice and data services via metro fibre in a dozen of Europe’s major cities and financial centres, and via 185 points of presence (PoP) by dint of its 100% owned fibre-optic networks, spanning eight countries.
Under the tie-up, it is understood that some Viatel investors (e.g. Morgan Stanley) will roll their investments into the enlarged operation, as well as providing additional equity for the venture. Commenting on the move, Digiweb chief executive officer Colm Piercy said: ‘We see a strong opportunity for cross border consolidation in the telecoms sector in Europe in parallel with the explosion in high bandwidth connectivity demand, and this transaction is the first step in positioning our group to take advantage of those trends … Digiweb has always had a philosophy of challenging the status quo and we plan on stepping that up following this marriage of Digiweb’s entrepreneurial culture with Viatel’s service and network excellence, and the combined expertise of our enlarged team.’