Investment firm Infratil has rescinded its decision to buy a majority stake in network provider and interconnection firm Console Connect.
The pair struck a deal in July last year, with the former set to acquire an 80 percent stake in Console Connect from HKT for $160 million. The deal has now fallen through.
Infratil said the conditional acquisition of the Hong Kong-based business was subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions.
Those conditions were not satisfied within the agreed timeframes and as a result, the parties have decided to abandon the transaction and terminate the conditional agreement.
“We remain positive about the global connectivity sector, particularly next-generation software-defined interconnection platforms like Console Connect has developed. We will continue to explore the sector,” said Jason Boyes, CEO of Infratil.
As part of the original agreement, the two companies planned to invest up to $295 million to accelerate Console Connect’s growth via marketing R&D, and new subsea cable investments.
Founded in 2011, Console Connect owns and operates a Tier 1 global IP network spanning 738,000km of fiber. It has 135 PoPs and capacity on 67 cable systems. The company reportedly serves around 17 percent of all Internet traffic.
HKT (aka Hong Kong Telecom) is owned by PCCW. PCCW Global and HKT Trust acquired Console Connect in 2017.
Morrison & Co-owned investment firm Infratil previously invested in telco One NZ (previously Vodafone NZ), UK data center firm Kao Data, CDC Data Centers, and Dutch fiber firm Fore Freedom.
