IP Communications

Italy's BS Private Equity SpA has completed its acquisition of Tiscali (News - Alert) International Network, the former carrier arm of Tiscali Group and a pure play wholesale carrier business.

 

The acquisition now makes Tiscali International Network independent from Tiscali Group. As such, the company will change its name and will be rebranded as “Tinet."  The transaction was valued at $65 million, the company said.

 

BS Private Equity plans to continue to support Tinet's global growth strategy in the wholesale IP and Ethernet markets, the firm announced Tuesday. In addition, Tinet will enhance its network performance and customer support services, with plans to unveil a third Network Operations Centre (NOC (News - Alert)) in the USA, the company said.

 

“We invest in companies that have a strong management team and a proven, sustainable business model,” Paolo Pendenza, partner of BS Private Equity, said in a statement. “It is clear that Tinet has both of those. Our skill is in finding companies which are already strong and helping to build them to their full potential. I am confident that our involvement will help lead Tinet to even greater success.”

 

“With the backing of a major private equity firm, we are in a strong position to consolidate our growth in the market,” Paolo Susnik, CEO of Tinet, added in a statement. “As a result, we are well placed to continue to provide our customers with the quality of service that they have come to expect from us.”

 

Tinet specializes in catering to the Internet Protocol – Multi Protocol Label Switching (IP-MPLS) market. Its products are designed for the businesses operating within this segment, TMC (News - Alert) reported. In 2007, the company launched an aggressive campaign for expansion in the North American wholesale IP Transit market.

 

As TMC reported this month, independent mobile-phone retailer and broadband provider Carphone Warehouse (News - Alert) acquired Tiscali’s U.K. business for $355 million. Tiscali had been in discussions with British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC about the sale of its U.K. business.

 

The acquisition would make Carphone Warehouse the U.K’s second largest broadband provider for residential and wholesale customers behind British Telecom Group.  The deal also positions Carphone as the No. 1 residential broadband provider with 4.25 million subscribers, the company said. The merger is expected to boost earnings by 10% by March 2010.