Canadian cable operator EastLink’s parent company, The Bragg Group, has made its first foray outside of the country with its $70 million purchase of a telecommunications company in Bermuda.
The Bragg Group announced this morning that it had purchased Cable & Wireless Bermuda from United Kingdom-based Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), the latter of which operates telecom businesses in Monaco, Panama and various small island states – including Macau.
Yesterday, the two companies signed binding agreements, and the deal is slated to close within a few weeks.
“This investment is a logical step for our company,” said Lee Bragg, CEO of EastLink and an executive of The Bragg Group. “Apart from being an excellent investment that we expect will provide growth opportunities for many years, there are natural synergies between Nova Scotia and Bermuda. This is just one commercial sector that relies heavily on up-to-date telecommunications infrastructure to transfer large quantities of data quickly and securely. I expect our new relationship with Bermuda will lead to many other business opportunities for our company, both in Bermuda and in Canada.”
Cable & Wireless Bermuda is a 121-year-old telecommunications company that serves both residential and business customers. Bragg said Ann Petley-Jones will be the CEO of the Bermuda businesses and that support services from London would be moved to Bermuda.
Halifax, Nova Scotia-based EastLink is the largest privately held cable company in Canada.
Canada’s Cogeco Cable is the only other Canadian cable operator to own a cable operation outside of its home country, but its acquisition of Cabovisao has been a work in progress.