Digital infrastructure investor Cordiant Digital Infrastructure has entered into an agreement to acquire Speed Fibre from the Irish Infrastructure Fund.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cordiant will secure the entire issued share capital of Speed Fibre for a total enterprise value of €190.5 million ($206m).

The purchase will be funded through a combination of €68m in cash and €29m through a vendor loan note, carrying an initial interest rate of six percent and maturing in a four-year timeframe.

Irish open-access infrastructure provider Speed Fibre currently operates 5,400km of owned and leased fiber and wireless backhaul across Ireland.

The company uses this infrastructure to provide dark fiber, wavelength, and Ethernet services to a mix of carriers, Internet service providers, corporate customers, and the government.

Once the deal closes, Speed Fibre will become the fourth digital infrastructure platform acquired by Cordiant since its launch in 2021, as part of its "Buy, Build & Grow" business model. 

The company closed its acquisition of DataGryd last year, before renaming the company Hudson Interxchange. Cordiant has also acquired Ceské Radiokomunikace (CRA) from funds of Macquarie in the Czech Republic, as well as an undisclosed long-haul fiber-optic network based in Norway, and Polish digital infrastructure company Emitel.

"As a fourth significant investment, Speed Fibre represents a further strategic milestone for the company," said Shonaid Jemmett-Page, chairman of Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited.

"Speed Fibre operates in a new market for Cordiant, where data consumption growth is expected to be among the highest in Europe. This provides additional portfolio cash flow supported by high visibility revenues from wholesale contracts with global blue-chip customers and offers the potential to generate long-term value and attractive returns to shareholders."

Speed Fibre also owns a subsidiary called Magnet Plus, which provides connectivity to around 10,000 customers in Ireland, in the business and retail sectors.

The deal is expected to close later this year, pending regulatory approval.