Business & Money | Monday 31 July, 2017 5:01 am |

I Squared Capital, an independent global infrastructure investment manager, has signed an agreement, through its ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund II, to acquire a 100 percent interest in Hutchison Global Communications Investment Holding Limited (HGC) from Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Limited (HTHKH) for approximately HKD14.5 billion. The transaction is expected to close by October 2017.

HGC is a leading fixed-line service provider to fixed and mobile carriers, OTT service providers, corporate and business, residential and data centers in Hong Kong and around the world. Its over 1.4-million-kilometer fiber network connects to over 14,200 buildings and it is also one of Hong Kong’s largest-scale Wi-Fi service providers with over 25,000 Wi-Fi hot spots. The company’s extensive international network has four highly prized land routes into mainland China. The company extends its global reach into different continents through multiple submarine and terrestrial cable systems. Much of HGC’s revenue is under long-term contracts to a diverse base of customers, including the major mobile providers in the region.

Commenting on the acquisition, Gautam Bhandari, Partner at I Squared Capital, said: “As a premier global hub for commerce and telecommunications, Hong Kong benefits from innovative products and world class services. With I Squared Capital’s investment, HGC will continue to provide the same quality of service that mobile telecommunication providers, corporate and residential customers have come to expect. Fresh capital will also enable the company to develop new solutions to meet the ever-increasing demand for high-speed information infrastructure throughout the region and beyond.”