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RCom buys U.S. co. for $300 m
Staff Correspondent
| The deal gives access to $100 b global enterprise data market |
EXPANDING SPREE: Anil Ambani (left), Chairman, Reliance Communications, with Promod Haque, Chairman, Yipes, and Managing Partner of Norwet Venture Partners, at a press conference in Mumbai on Monday.
MUMBAI: In its single largest acquisition till date, Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCom) has announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire the U.S.-based Yipes Holdings, the leading provider of managed Ethernet services. The all-cash deal is valued at Rs. 1,200 crore ($300 million) and it accelerates RCom’s penetration into the lucrative $100 billion global enterprise data market.
According to Anil D. Ambani, Chairman, RCom, “the acquisition of Yipes drives forward our strategy to offer the most sophisticated, cutting edge data communication products and services, specialising in application and content distribution, spanning developed and emerging markets.
“We see enormous potential to rapidly expand Yipes coverage in the U.S. and to globalise Yipes service by leveraging our customer relationships and network reach around the globe. We confidently expect this acquisition to significantly enhance the growth rate, profitability and returns of our global data business.”
The San Francisco-headquartered Yipes has pioneered Metro Ethernet and developed leading edge proprietary products to meet its customer requirements. It has nearly 1,000 enterprise customers, concentrated across four industry verticals — financial, legal, government and healthcare — which now account for 50 per cent of the Ethernet market.
It owns over 22,000 route kilometres of fibre across 14 U.S. metros. In addition, it is present in London, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Promod Haque, Yipes Chairman, and Managing Partner, Norwest Venture Partners, said, “we saw long ago the impact Ethernet services would have on the telecommunications industry. Yipes has consistently brought fresh ideas and tangible innovation to this market. This acquisition of Yipes by India’s powerhouse, Reliance Communications sets the stage for a major transformation within global telecommunications.”
For RCom, the Yipes acquisition is a key step to move up the value chain and closer to its customers in the global data business.
Punit Garg, President, Global Business, RCom, said, “the acquisition of Yipes will place RCom among the top three global Ethernet service providers in the world. e plan to leverage the significant headstart of Yipes in Ethernet services, double the coverage in the U.S. domestic market and roll out Yipes services over the FLAG global network.”
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