London-based Colt set to close $1.8bn swoop on Nasdaq-listed tech firm
London tech firm Colt is set to complete its $1.8bn swoop on US firm Lumen in the coming days after winning regulatory sign-off for the deal, Morning Wire can reveal.
Colt Technology Services, a Shoreditch-based internet infrastructure firm, struck a bumper deal for the European business of Nasdaq-listed Lumen last year and could now announce the closure of the deal as soon as this week, Morning Wire understands.
The deal will hand control of Lumen’s sprawling European infrastructure business to Colt and make it the largest fibre infrastructure provider in Europe.
“We have now received the required regulatory approvals and we expect the transaction to close relatively soon,” a spokesman for Lumen told City A.M.
Colt was contacted for comment.
Colt has quietly built itself into a tech giant from its East London base, with the deal set to swell its headcount to 6000 across more than 80 global offices. The majority of Lumen staff are expected to transfer to Colt.
Chief Keri Gilder is set to address media and investors to discuss the deal at an event next week, it is understood.
“This transaction would mark the next chapter in Colt’s exciting story of global growth and world-class innovation,” said Gilder, at the announcement of the deal last year.
“This acquisition would strengthen and extend these connections across existing and new geographies, helping us to accelerate growth and bring the power of the digital universe closer to our customers.”