News
Canadian cableco snaps up fibre network operator Fibrenoire to strengthen its position in business services market.
Videotron on Thursday announced that it has acquired Fibrenoire for C$125 million (€82 million) in a move designed to help it meet the growing demand for fibre connectivity from business customers in eastern Canada.
Quebec-based cable operator Videotron said it has acquired all the shares held by Fibrenoire’s founding shareholders and its majority owner, buyout fund Novacap TMT.
Fibrenoire, which focuses on the provision of fibre connectivity to the business market in Quebec and Ontario, is now an independent subsidiary of Videotron.
It will retain its head office in Montreal, and its staff of around 60. The firm’s founders – president Benjamin Desmarais, VP of sales and engineering Rémi Fournier, and CTO Jean-François Lévesque – will stay in their positions.
"This transaction will strengthen Videotron’s leadership in the business telecom market," said Videotron CEO Manon Brouillette. "Combining our expertise and our distinct but complementary facilities will equip us to continue our growth in the Quebec business market," she said.
"This acquisition follows the takeover of 4Degrees in 2015, positioning us to meet growing business needs for cloud computing and connectivity, two highly complementary market segments," Brouillette said.
Videotron agreed to acquire colocation facility operator 4Degrees for C$31.5 million in March last year.
Pierre Dion, CEO of Videotron parent Quebecor, noted that the Fibrenoire deal indicates the ongoing development of Videotron Business Solutions, which provides services including Internet access, network solutions, fixed and mobile telephony and data hosting to 125,000 businesses, using fibre, coaxial cable and LTE networks.
"The addition of Fibrenoire will increase our presence in growing market segments and further diversify our revenue streams," he said.
Fibrenoire provides connectivity services to 1,000 customers in the Montréal, Quebec City, Ottawa and Toronto areas via its 4,500-km fibre network.
