Lumen to sell EMEA business to Colt Technology Services
Continuing to streamline its portfolio, Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) will sell its Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) business to Colt Technology Services, the two companies say. The $1.8 billion Colt has agreed to pay for the assets represents a multiple of approximately 11X of the business unit’s estimated 2021 adjusted EBITDA. The deal is subject to customary conditions and could close as soon as late 2023, the companies estimate.
As part of the sales agreement, the two companies will enter a partnership that will see Lumen continuing to serve EMEA connectivity requirements via Colt’s newly expanded network. Meanwhile, Colt will leverage Lumen’s network to serving the needs of the EMEA-based customers for service outside of EMEA.
The sale includes Lumen’s terrestrial and submarine network assets in EMEA. The company says the deal will provide additional capital and streamline its portfolio maintain a strong balance sheet while enabling more focused investments on enterprise growth. Colt will gain additional network assets and strengthen its service portfolio to better address the needs of enterprise, hyperscale, government, and wholesale customers.
The pending sale follows Lumen's divestiture of ILEC assets in 20 states -- a transaction that formed Brightspeed -- and the offloading of Latin American assets to Stonepeak (see “Lumen, Brightspeed close ILEC transfer deal” and “Lumen closes Latin American business sale to Stonepeak to create Cirion”).
"We are continuing to execute on portfolio optimization at Lumen, creating additional value for our shareholders by monetizing non-strategic assets at accretive multiples," said Lumen President and CEO Jeff Storey (who will retire November 7). "This transaction would enhance our focus so we can invest more efficiently in our most strategic opportunities – our key enterprise and Quantum Fiber initiatives – and partner with regional leaders like Colt in Europe and Cirion in Latin America to continue serving our multinational enterprise customers."
"This transaction would mark the next chapter in Colt's exciting story of global growth and world-class innovation," said Keri Gilder, CEO of Colt Technology Services. "We're deeply committed to building extraordinary connections for our people, customers and partners across our digital infrastructure. This acquisition would strengthen and extend these connections across existing and new geographies, helping us to accelerate growth and bring the power of the digital universe closer to our customers."
For related articles, visit the Business Topic Center.
For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.
To stay abreast of fiber network deployments, subscribe to Lightwave’s Service Providers and Datacom/Data Center newsletters.
Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.