BT to acquire i2i Enterprise
BT Group PLC
06 February 2007
February 6, 2007
DC07-55
BT to acquire i2i Enterprise Ltd
BT set to become the leading global carrier in the India market
New Delhi, 6 February 2007 -- BT today announced that it has signed an agreement
for the acquisition of i2i Enterprise Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai-based enterprise
services company specialising in internet protocol (IP) communications services
for major Indian and global multinational companies. The acquiring entity is BT
Telecom India Pvt Ltd, BT's joint venture company with Jubilant Enpro Pvt Ltd.
i2i is one of the most comprehensive and innovative providers of enterprise
telecoms services in the Indian market today, and is the distributor of BT
Infonet's managed network services and products nationwide.
Andy Green, CEO, BT Global Services, said: "BT will become the biggest foreign
global carrier operating in India today as the result of this deal. The
acquisition of i2i is exciting because it places BT at the heart of the world's
fastest growing IT and business process outsourcing market. This will help BT
build a broad-based platform for growth in India, and create a single BT-branded
channel to the Indian market. India is a cornerstone in our global expansion
plans and this investment underlines our commitment to growth from India. BT
continues to execute its global mission to be the leader in the delivery of
converged networked services."
Prakash Jain, Chairman and CEO, i2i, said: "Through our work together as an
indirect channel in the Indian market for BT Infonet, BT has gained a great
insight and appreciation of i2i's entrepreneurial culture and clear focus on
outstanding customer service. BT will integrate the strengths of both companies,
resulting in a compelling service offering to overseas and local multinational
customers."
i2i Enterprises has around 200 people in India and as at the last audited
balance sheet date of 31st March 2006, the gross assets of i2i were
approximately US$22.5 million.
In November 2006, BT Telecom India applied for licenses to provide National Long
Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance (ILD) services, and was issued
Letters of Intent (LoI) in December 2006 by the Government of India, Department
of Telecommunications (DoT), as a first step prior to the award of licenses.
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About i2i Enterprise Pvt Ltd
Established in 1992, i2i provides global managed network services in arrangement
with BT Infonet. Within a span of about three years, i2i has emerged as a
leading global managed services provider with a significant customer base in the
IT, ITES and BFSI segments.
Headquartered in Mumbai, i2i has network operating centers and offices in all
major commercial cities in India. With around 200 technical, sales and other
professional staff, i2i is known for its customised managed telecom services and
excellent service delivery.
i2i is one of the few companies in India with licences to provide international
long distance (ILD), national long distance (NLD), nationwide ISP, and internet
telephony services.
Their mission is "to be the preferred telecom solutions provider by exceeding
customer expectations."
About BT Telecom India Pvt Ltd
BT Telecom India Pvt. Ltd. is a subsidiary of BT Group plc, a global leader in
networked IT services. BT Telecom India Pvt Ltd was established pursuant to a
joint venture agreement with Jubilant Enpro Pvt. Ltd., a New Delhi-based company
engaged in the businesses of oil and gas, food and services. Under the joint
venture agreement, BT holds a 74 per cent interest, for which it contributed
approximately £800,000 (US$1.6 million) in cash while Jubilant Enpro holds 26
per cent.
Jubilant Enpro is a member company of Jubilant Group, a business group having
diverse business interests with Jubilant Organosys as the flagship company and
which is a public limited company listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE)
and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in India.
About BT
BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications solutions and
services operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include networked
IT services, local, national and international telecommunications services, and
higher-value broadband and internet products and services. BT consists
principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail
and BT Wholesale.
In the year ended 31 March 2006, BT Group plc's revenue was £19,514 million with
profit before taxation of £2,040 million.
British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group and
encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is
listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.
For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt. BT images are available for
download via the image library at www.vismedia.co.uk
Note to editors:
The BT strategy for India is focused on employing market leading networked IT
services to meet the needs of Indian customers as they globalise and global
customers with operations in India.
In 2006, BT announced the appointment of Indian national CS Rao as managing
director of BT India. The company also set up a new joint venture company, BT
Telecom India Pvt Ltd, with Jubilant Enpro in November 2006.
BT Telecom India Pvt Ltd is a subsidiary of BT plc, a global leader in networked
IT services with a customer base of over 20 million.
BT has stated strong growth plans for its Indian operations, predicting that its
revenues from India will be US$250 million by 2009.
BT employs over 15,000 people in Asia Pacific (both directly and indirectly), of
which the majority is based in India. BT is looking to increase its Indian
employee strength by hiring an additional 6,000 people within the next two
years.
In the past three years, BT in Asia Pacific has invested more than US$100
million in rebuilding its regional network. In February 2006, BT announced a
US$21 million investment in a global IP-based voice platform which will see the
current legacy TDM network replaced by an MPLS-based network across over 30
countries worldwide. BT has plans to invest a significant portion of this in
India.
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For further information, please contact:
David Clarke
Corporate & Media Relations, Asia Pacific
Tel: +852 2532 3652. Email: david.r.clarke@bt.com
Or, on behalf of i2i:
Ranii Menon, CEO
Communique India
Tel: +91 9845027101. Email: rani@ranimenon.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange