Fiber M&A: CityFibre Acquires Redcentric’s Fiber, Ducts

This week starts with a bit of fiber M&A over in the UK.  CityFibre has announced the acquisition of all the metro duct and fiber network assets of Redcentric, an IT managed services provider.  

The acquisition brings portfolio an additional 137km of route miles of infrastructure  into CityFibre’s portfolio.  These assets bring CityFibre into three new markets of Cambridge, Portsmouth, and Southampton, as well as add assets to several of the company’s existing markets including Nottingham, Derby, and Northampton.  The biggest chunk is in Cambridge, where the acquired 44km of infrastructure will probably be a candidate for one of CityFibre’s Gigabit Cities in a few quarters.

Meanwhile, RedCentric becomes a dark fiber customer of CityFibre with £4.5m in initial dark fiber leasing commitments on the acquired assets serving some 188 Redcentric customer connections as well as a framework agreement to leverage the company’s national metro assets.  RedCentric will be able to focus more on the managed side of things and less on construction while widening their potential fiber reach.

The purchase cost CityFibre some £5M and expands their reach into 40 markets across the UK.  It echoes the larger KCOM deal from last winter, bringing more underinvested infrastructure into their orbit with an eye toward a wholesale business model.

If you haven't already, please take our Reader Survey! Just 3 questions to help us better understand who is reading Telecom Ramblings so we can serve you better!

Categories: Mergers and Acquisitions · Metro fiber