Infracapital Grabs 50% Stake in SSE Enterprise Telecoms UK

The infrastructure equity investment arm of M&G Prudential, Infracapital, has purchased a 50% stake in UK communications provider SSE Enterprise Telecoms (SSEET). The deal itself is said to be worth up to £380m and values the provider at more than £700m.

SSE Enterprise Telecoms have spent the past few years expanding their 12,000km wide fibre optic and Ethernet network across the UK. The new investment is thus expected to fuel even more “aggressive expansion plans” via a new shared ownership structure and will help the operator to build new partnerships, such as in the 5G, SD-WAN and Smart Cities sectors.

Apparently the deal comprises £215m, which is due to be paid on completion of the transaction (expected by the end of June 2019), and up to a further £165m that will be paid in a series of instalments (subject to future performance).

Colin Sempill, MD of SSEET, said:

“Infracapital’s investment in [SSEET] shows the confidence it has in the future growth of the business. It recognises the success we have achieved to date, building out a great network, winning notable contracts and being relentlessly focused on customer satisfaction. Both parties see this as an opportunity to help develop the network infrastructure that this country needs to turn the vision of the UK’s digital economy into reality.”

James Harraway, Infracapital Director, said:

“High-speed connectivity is vital to economic growth and prosperity and we are delighted to announce this partnership with SSE plc. SSE Enterprise Telecoms is an established telecoms infrastructure provider and is well positioned to support growth in this critical sector.

Infracapital has considerable expertise of investing in digital infrastructure and we look forward to working closely with our new partners as the business continues to grow, deliver new projects and expand its networks.”

Earlier this year Infracapital splashed £270m to buy rural fibre optic broadband ISP Gigaclear and they’re also working with Wight Fibre to roll-out a new FTTH network on the Isle of Wight. The infrastructure investor had also been linked with TalkTalk’s plans for a new FTTH network to cover 3 million UK premises, but that seems to have been shelved (here).