Digital 9 Infrastructure Buys Aqua Comms

The independent transatlantic cable operator Aqua Comms has officially changed hands. Yesterday, Digital 9 Infrastructure PLC closed the deal they had been working on to acquire the company and overnight became a big player in the subsea marketplace.

Aqua Comms owns and operates the two transatlantic systems AEC-1 and AEC-2, plus the CeltixConnect cable system, and they are building a second CeltixConnect cable across the Irish Sea as well as the North Sea Connect system between the UK and Scandinavia. Under the wings of D9, Aqua Comms says it is in a position to become more aggressive both in the Atlantic and other geographies.

On the one hand, an infrastructure fund — excuse me, a digital investment trust — buying some infrastructure is not big news. But on the other hand, subsea hasn’t been the favorite playing ground for infrastructure funds — we’ve seen a lot of hyperscale funding for such builds but not so much from this side of the fence. But D9 and Triple Point Investment Management went out and raised money in the open market to do this, which makes one wonder what else they might have their eyes on.

But the more immediate question is what Aqua Comms CEO Nigel Bayliff’s comment of ‘new geographies’ might mean. The South Atlantic? The Mediterranean? The Pacific? The Arctic? Or do they mean complementary terrestrial investments? I suppose we shall just have to wait and see.

Digital 9 Infrastructure Buys Aqua Comms

The independent transatlantic cable operator Aqua Comms has officially changed hands. Yesterday, Digital 9 Infrastructure PLC closed the deal they had been working on to acquire the company and overnight became a big player in the subsea marketplace.

Aqua Comms owns and operates the two transatlantic systems AEC-1 and AEC-2, plus the CeltixConnect cable system, and they are building a second CeltixConnect cable across the Irish Sea as well as the North Sea Connect system between the UK and Scandinavia. Under the wings of D9, Aqua Comms says it is in a position to become more aggressive both in the Atlantic and other geographies.

On the one hand, an infrastructure fund — excuse me, a digital investment trust — buying some infrastructure is not big news. But on the other hand, subsea hasn’t been the favorite playing ground for infrastructure funds — we’ve seen a lot of hyperscale funding for such builds but not so much from this side of the fence. But D9 and Triple Point Investment Management went out and raised money in the open market to do this, which makes one wonder what else they might have their eyes on.

But the more immediate question is what Aqua Comms CEO Nigel Bayliff’s comment of ‘new geographies’ might mean. The South Atlantic? The Mediterranean? The Pacific? The Arctic? Or do they mean complementary terrestrial investments? I suppose we shall just have to wait and see.

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Categories: Mergers and Acquisitions · Undersea cables