Zayo Group continues European fiber expansion

Bandwidth infrastructure company Zayo Group, LLC continues its strategy of growth by acquisition with the purchase of Geo Networks Ltd., a London-based fiber provider that will add more than 2,100 route miles to Zayo’s European network.

Geo, founded in 2002, owns and operates a high-capacity fiber network in the United Kingdom and provides dark fiber, co-location services and managed networks for businesses including media companies, service providers, data centers and financial services. The company’s 100 route mile network in London is located in the city’s sewer system, offering less chance of physical disruption and rapid deployment, Zayo noted.

Zayo, based in Boulder, Colo., was started in 2007 with an infusion of funding from venture investors. It has made dozens of acquisitions since its inception to develop a global network. This is the company’s second recent European acquisition. In late April, Zayo announced that it had agreed to purchase Neo Telecoms, a fiber company based in Paris with substantial dark fiber in that city and 9 co-location centers across France. 

Terms of the Geo deal were not disclosed, but Zayo said it would close immediately and be funded by a combination of cash on-hand and a draw from its credit facility. Zayo promptly amended a credit agreement to include a $275 million add-on to a $1.74 billion term loan; the company indicated that a portion of the add-on was used to re-pay$150 million that it drew on to help pay for Geo, and the rest was used for the Neo purchase and general corporate purposes.

Zayo said that the Geo acquisition “will significantly increase Zayo’s fiber footprint in the UK, adding over 1,800 miles of national fiber connecting 130 data centers, telehouses and key internet exchanges,” as well as providing direct access to large cities such as Manchester and Birmingham and access to an optical fiber subsea system with connectivity to Dublin, Ireland.

“Geo’s extensive fiber and conduit assets complement our existing London footprint and bring an increased breadth to our UK network,” said Dan Caruso, CEO of Zayo Group, in a statement. “Additionally, diverse connectivity to Dublin is critical as it continues to develop as an international data center hub.”

Watch a video interview with Dave Jones of Zayo Group, who runs the company’s fiber-to-the-tower segment, on the LTE roll-out in the U.S. and small cell backhaul.