Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Ltd (LSE:CORD) has struck a deal for its Speed Fibre business to acquire BT Group PLC's (LSE:BT.A) Irish wholesale and enterprise business unit for €22 million.
BT will remain a customer of the combined business under rolling three-year agreements, once the deal is completed, which is expected later this year.
Earlier this week, the Times reported that BT was in talks with the infrastructure-focused investment trust over a potential sale of BT Communications Ireland Limited (BTCIL), with exclusive negotiations in recent weeks.
BT valued the business at €300 million (£249 million) when it last attempted to sell off the assets in 2019.
Cordiant said it expects the acquisition to enhance and widen Speed Fibre's ability and range of advanced connectivity solutions, as well as creating operational efficiencies and winding the customer base.
"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," said Steven Marshall, executive chairman of Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Management, and Benn Mikula, CEO of Cordiant Capital.
"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."
Speed Fibre CEO Peter McCarthy added that the acquisition "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."
BTCIL has around 3,400 km of managed fibre optic broadband in the groun and provides services to roughly 400 customers in the telecoms, enterprise and government sectors.
It made underlying revenues of €57.6 million in the 12 months ending 30 September 2024, which if combined with Speed Fibre would have produced a business generating core adjusted revenues of €144.8 million in the same period, Cordiant said.
Cordiant is not buying BTCIL's customer base of multinationals and financial institutions, nor its emergency call answering service and associated employees.
BT Ireland also recently sold off its divested data centre business separately.