Interoute Communications Ltd was a privately held
telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
s company that operated large
cloud service
Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage (cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over multip ...
platforms in Europe. On 23 February 2018, Interoute was acquired by
GTT Communications
GTT Communications, Inc. (GTT), formerly Global Telecom and Technology, is a multinational telecommunications and internet service provider company with headquarters in McLean, Virginia, and incorporated in Delaware. GTT operates a Tier 1 IP ne ...
for $2.3bn (€1.9bn);
and the acquisition closed on 31 May 2018.
Operations
Interoute's network was the largest privately owned Europe-wide IP clouds as of 2009, before its acquisition by GTT Communications.
Interoute had ten subsea landing stations ringing the edge of Europe, which acted as the landing point for a number of submarine cable systems, as well as providing the European link to the
SEACOM cable connecting East and South Africa to Europe. Mediterranean operators
Tunisie Telecom
Tunisie Telecom is the incumbent telecom operator in Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital ...
, Malta's GO and Greece's OTE link directly to the Interoute network in Italy.
History
Interoute was founded in 1995 and restructured into its current form amidst the
collapse of the telecommunications sector. Four weeks after its holding company i-21 Holdings Ltd., went into administration, Interoute Telecommunications also went by its main supplier,
Alcatel Alcatel may refer to:
* Alcatel, a former French telecommunications equipment company, which became Alcatel-Lucent and is now part of Nokia
* Alcatel Mobile, a brand of mobile phones, tablets and wearables, formerly a joint venture between Alcatel ...
. A team led by Chairman and CEO
James Kinsella undertook extensive restructuring and sold its traditional telephony operations in order to concentrate exclusively on network and Internet services. A final settlement with Alcatel was reached, effective February 2003.
The core of Interoute's assets is a purpose-built network spanning the European Union. That physical infrastructure was supplemented through a series of acquisitions. Interoute acquired the
Ebone Ebone may refer to:
* Ebone, Cameroon, a town and commune in Cameroon
* EBONE, a pan-European Internet backbone
{{disambig ...
portion of the
KPNQwest
KPNQwest was a telecommunications company equally owned by the Dutch national telecom operator KPN and Qwest Communications International Inc., the Internet communications company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
The company was set to bring ...
NV network from receivers McStay Luby in July 2002. The deal transferred eight high-capacity
metropolitan area network
A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a computer network that interconnects users with computer resources in a geographic region of the size of a metropolitan area. The term MAN is applied to the interconnection of local area networks (LANs) in ...
s (MANs) into Interoute's ownership, at a cost rumoured to be a fraction of the €645 million KPNQwest paid for it. In November 2002,
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
reported that Interoute was hit by £310 million debt. Between 2003 and 2007 Interoute acquired a number of businesses, including: Virtue Broadcasting's Media Services Division, to expand its value-added services portfolio; Central European Communications Holdings BV (CECOM) and its operating subsidiaries in
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
,
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, which extended its footprint in the CEE; the European operations of hosting provider VIA NET.WORKS; and
PSINet's European operations in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
; plus
Managed Services
Managed services is the practice of outsourcing the responsibility for maintaining, and anticipating need for, a range of processes and functions, ostensibly for the purpose of improved operations and reduced budgetary expenditures through the r ...
businesses in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. More recently (Oct 2014), they acquired Vtesse Group to expand their cloud services portfolio across the UK.
In September 2015, Interoute announced plans to acquire
Easynet
Easynet was a managed services provider and delivered integrated networks, hosting and unified communications services to organisations globally.
The company was later renamed Easynet Global Services, and a sister company, Easynet Connect, was fo ...
(
MDNX
MDNX was a private telecommunications company located in Bracknell and London. In December 2013 MDNX acquired the entire issued share capital of Easynet, a global provider of managed networking, hosting and cloud integration services, from LDC. ...
) for £402m.
Acquisition by GTT
On 28 February 2018
GTT Communications
GTT Communications, Inc. (GTT), formerly Global Telecom and Technology, is a multinational telecommunications and internet service provider company with headquarters in McLean, Virginia, and incorporated in Delaware. GTT operates a Tier 1 IP ne ...
announced the acquisition of Interoute for $2.3 billion. The acquisition closed on 31 May.
Financial
A
privately held company
A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...
, before the purchase by GTT Communications, Interoute was owned by the
Sandoz Family Foundation
The Sandoz Family Foundation, created in 1964, is a private Swiss foundation. Description
The foundation was created by sculptor Édouard-Marcel Sandoz, son of Édouard Constant Sandoz, founder in 1866 of the Basel-based company Sandoz, now Nov ...
,
one of the world's largest private family foundations as well as by Aleph Capital, an independent investment firm based in London and Crestview Partners.
References
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.interoute.com/
Telecommunications companies of the United Kingdom
ICT service providers
Telecommunications companies established in 1995
1995 establishments in the United Kingdom
Companies based in London