EQT Infrastructure, part of Stockholm-based alternative investment firm EQT, has successfully acquired Malta's market-leading telecom infstructure firm, Melita, from Apax Partners and Fortino Capital.
Financial details were not disclosed.
Founded in 1991, Melita is both a telecommunication infrastructure owner as well as a services provider in Malta. The business owns and operates nationwide gigabit broadband services, mobile and fixed telephony services, TV services and colocation services, operating a purpose-built data centre.
Ulrich Köllensperger, partner at EQT Partners and investment advisor to EQT Infrastructure IV, said that EQT planned to transform the business into a 'sustainable' one and said that Melita was 'already an innovator in the Maltese market and beyond in terms of infrastructure, products and customer service'.
The business will continue to operate under the leadership of CEO Harald Rösch, a longstanding industrial advisor to EQT, Melita said.
'With the backing of EQT Infrastructure and their extensive experience in our industry, we will continue the journey by developing our networks and providing outstanding customer experience in the years to come. Melita is ideally positioned to grow in the Maltese telecom market and beyond,' noted Rösch.
EQT Infrastructure said it planned to further upgrade its fixed and mobile networks and open an additional data centre location on Malta, as well as supporting the firm's international expansion plans in Italy, among other markets.
Earlier this week, Deutsche Bank's asset management arm DWS purchased the data centre business of Netherland's leading telecoms operator KPN, signalling burgeoning investor appetite for this alternative asset class.
In March, CBRE research noted that colocation centres - data centres which lease equipment, space and bandwidth - are of significant interest to investment firms, with takeovers in the sector underlining growing maturity.
'Several M&A processes are now being prepared in anticipation of a further hardening in pricing, and we are predicting a number of new players will enter bidding processes now that they have educated themselves on the impressive market dynamic,' noted Paul Mortlock, CBRE's data centre investment director.
Clifford Chance and Ganado Advocates acted as legal advisors to EQT Infrastructure.
