Key takeaways
- EXA Infrastructure has signed binding agreements to acquire Aqua Comms, a specialist operator of Transatlantic and intra-European subsea infrastructure
- EXA operates over 150,000km of digital infrastructure across 37 countries, including 20 cable landing stations
- Aqua Comms owns and operates the America Europe Connect and CeltixConnect systems and is part of the Amitié (AEC-3) consortium
- The transaction is expected to complete in approximately 12 months, subject to customary closing conditions
- Akur Capital and RBC Capital Markets advise EXA Infrastructure; Goldman Sachs advises D9
Binding agreements to acquire Aqua Comms
EXA Infrastructure has announced today that it has signed binding agreements to acquire Aqua Comms – a specialist operator of Transatlantic and intra-European subsea infrastructure.
EXA Infrastructure, a London based portfolio company of I Squared Capital - a leading independent global infrastructure investment manager, operates over 150,000km of digital infrastructure across 37 countries, including 20 cable landing stations that provide critical connectivity to subsea systems.
What Aqua Comms operates
Aqua Comms is an Ireland-based service provider specialising in operating submarine cable systems and supplying fibre pairs, spectrum and wholesale network capacity to the global content, cloud, carrier & enterprise markets. It is the owner/operator of America Europe Connect-1 (AEC-1), America Europe Connect-2 (AEC-2), CeltixConnect-1 (CC-1) and CeltixConnect-2 (CC-2) and is part of a consortium that owns/operates the Amitié cable system (AEC-3).
Aqua Comms cable systems
- America Europe Connect-1 (AEC-1)
- America Europe Connect-2 (AEC-2)
- CeltixConnect-1 (CC-1)
- CeltixConnect-2 (CC-2)
- Amitié cable system (AEC-3), through a consortium
Comment from Jim Fagan
“The acquisition of Aqua Comms demonstrates EXA Infrastructure’s commitment to build a modern and diverse Transatlantic platform to fully serve AI, Cloud and Content demand, now and in the future. The combination will offer our customers more routes, more capacity and increased diversity, all on a scaled platform” said Jim Fagan, chief executive of EXA Infrastructure.
Timing and advisors
The planned transaction is expected to complete in approximately 12 months, subject to customary closing conditions.
Akur Capital and RBC Capital Markets are acting as financial advisors to EXA Infrastructure in connection with the transaction and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison is serving as legal M&A advisor to EXA Infrastructure. Goldman Sachs is acting as financial advisor to D9 in connection with the transaction and Shoosmiths is serving as legal advisor to D9.
About EXA Infrastructure
EXA Infrastructure is an award-winning portfolio company of I Squared Capital and one of the largest dedicated digital infrastructure platforms throughout Europe, connecting North America and Asia via the Middle East. With over 20 years of experience in building resilient networks, EXA Infrastructure provides the critical modern infrastructure and unrivalled engineering expertise that serves as the backbone for digital and economic growth. This includes mission-critical networks for governments and enterprises, hyperscale infrastructure for the world’s most innovative and influential businesses, and ultra-low latency, high bandwidth networks for financial, gaming and broadcast services.
