Home
 » ISP News » 
Sponsored Links

Isle of Man ISP Manx Acquired by Infrastructure Firm for £256m

Thursday, Mar 14th, 2019 (7:34 am) - Score 3,456

The mains fixed line and mobile telecoms operator for the Isle of Man (British Crown Dependency), Manx Telecom, has recommended that its shareholders accept a £255.9m offer from Basalt Infrastructure Partners II GP Limited to acquire the business. The move is likely to boost investment in their FTTP and 5G roll-out.

At the end of 2018 Manx reported Revenues of £81.5m (2017: £78.5m) and reported Profit Before Tax of £11.6m (2017: £11.9m), as well as an increase in net debt to £63.0m (2017: £56.9m). Some 99% of the island can already access their 4G mobile network, while 93% are within reach of their fixed line Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC / VDSL2) based superfast broadband technology.

Back in 2017 Manx also announced that they were preparing to start the roll-out of a new 1Gbps capable “ultrafastFibre-to-the-Premise (FTTP) broadband network (here) and since then this has grown its coverage to reach 10% of premises, with early take-up of 13.5% and rising.

Apparently Basalt, which is an infrastructure investment firm, was attracted to Manx because of its “stable business, a proven financial and operational track record led by a strong management team, and the opportunity to continue investment in the new network build out and new business strategies.”

Kevin Walsh, Chairman of Manx Telecom, said:

“Since its IPO in 2014, Manx has performed well and delivered consistent returns for its shareholders through resilient earnings, strong cash generation and a growing dividend. Basalt’s cash offer recognises the quality of the business, the management team and the employees and provides certainty to shareholders.

After careful consideration and negotiation the Board concluded that it would unanimously recommend the offer as being in the best interests of shareholders, employees and other stakeholders.”

Steven Lowry, Partner of Basalt Infrastructure Partners LLP, said:

“We are pleased to announce Basalt’s board recommended offer for Manx, which provides cash certainty to shareholders. We are keen to support the company through its next phase of capital investment, which includes funding fibre to the premises, its commitment to Vannin Ventures and the future requirement of a 5G network roll out.

We look forward to working closely with Manx’s management team and employees realise their vision to continue to provide high quality services to customers and position the company for the future.”

The acquisition values Manx Telecom at 215p per share and is expected to complete in early May 2019.

Tags: , , , , ,
Mark-Jackson
By Mark Jackson
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook and .
Search ISP News
Search ISP Listings
Search ISP Reviews

Comments are closed

Cheap BIG ISPs for 100Mbps+
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Virgin Media UK ISP Logo
Virgin Media £24.00
132Mbps
Gift: None
Shell Energy UK ISP Logo
Shell Energy £26.99
109Mbps
Gift: None
Plusnet UK ISP Logo
Plusnet £27.99
145Mbps
Gift: None
Zen Internet UK ISP Logo
Zen Internet £28.00 - 35.00
100Mbps
Gift: None
Large Availability | View All
Cheapest ISPs for 100Mbps+
Gigaclear UK ISP Logo
Gigaclear £15.00
150Mbps
Gift: None
YouFibre UK ISP Logo
YouFibre £19.99
150Mbps
Gift: None
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
BeFibre UK ISP Logo
BeFibre £21.00
150Mbps
Gift: £25 Love2Shop Card
Hey! Broadband UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Large Availability | View All
The Top 15 Category Tags
  1. FTTP (5473)
  2. BT (3505)
  3. Politics (2525)
  4. Openreach (2291)
  5. Business (2251)
  6. Building Digital UK (2234)
  7. FTTC (2041)
  8. Mobile Broadband (1961)
  9. Statistics (1780)
  10. 4G (1654)
  11. Virgin Media (1608)
  12. Ofcom Regulation (1451)
  13. Fibre Optic (1392)
  14. Wireless Internet (1386)
  15. FTTH (1381)

Helpful ISP Guides and Tips

Promotion
Sponsored

Copyright © 1999 to Present - ISPreview.co.uk - All Rights Reserved - Terms , Privacy and Cookie Policy , Links , Website Rules , Contact
Mastodon