TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cogeco Peer 1, a leading provider of colocation, network connectivity and managed services, today announced the completion of its acquisition by Digital Colony, a global investment firm dedicated to strategic opportunities in digital infrastructure. The company, which will operate as a standalone business, was previously part of Cogeco Communications Inc. (TSX:CCA). The transaction was originally announced on February 27, 2019.
Cogeco Peer 1 will remain headquartered in Toronto and will continue to prioritize employee engagement and customer and partner success through two business units. The new Fiber business unit will focus on scaling the company’s fiber assets, which currently encompass more than 3,300 route kilometers of owned, dense metro fiber in Canada’s two largest urban markets. It will become the country’s first neutral-host provider of small cell and 5G infrastructure and enterprise and wholesale fiber connectivity. The other business unit will concentrate on growing the company’s data center portfolio which is located across North America and Europe offering hybrid-solutions and managed services to a global, blue-chip customer base.
“As the world continues to become more reliant on wireless technologies and mobile devices, increased access to digital infrastructure assets and cloud storage is imperative,” said Susan Bowen, CEO of Cogeco Peer 1. “We look forward to meeting the fiber and data center needs of a range of customers, from mobile network operators to leading enterprise organizations, as a standalone business.”
“Cogeco Peer 1 has a strong management team in place to lead the company as it enters the next phase of its growth and evolution,” said Steven Sonnenstein, a Managing Director at Digital Colony. “We are excited to support the leadership team as it scales the business, providing superior service to customers around the world as a neutral- host provider of digital infrastructure.”
RBC Capital Markets acted as sole financial advisor to Digital Colony, Miller Thomson LLP served as the firm’s legal counsel, and TD Bank led the debt financing. BMO Capital Markets acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Cogeco Communications, and Stikeman Elliott LLP provided legal counsel.
ABOUT COGECO PEER 1
Cogeco Peer 1 is a global provider of essential business-to-business products and services, such as colocation, network connectivity, managed hosting, cloud services and managed services, that allow customers across Canada, Mexico, the United States and Western Europe to focus on their core business. With 16 data centers, extensive FastFiber Network® and more than 50 points-of-presence in North America and Europe combined, Cogeco Peer 1 is a trusted partner to businesses small, medium and large, providing the ability to access, move, manage and store mission-critical data worldwide, backed by superior customer support. Cogeco Peer 1 is a portfolio company of Digital Colony, a global investment firm dedicated to strategic opportunities in digital infrastructure. For more information, visit www.cogecopeer1.com.
ABOUT DIGITAL COLONY
Digital Colony is a global investment firm dedicated to strategic opportunities in digital infrastructure. The firm was launched in 2018 by Digital Bridge Holdings, LLC, a leading investor in and operator of companies enabling the next generation of mobile and internet connectivity, and Colony Capital, Inc. (NYSE:CLNY), a leading global real estate and investment management firm. The firm brings together Digital Bridge’s industry, operational and investment expertise in the telecommunications sector with Colony Capital’s 26 years of experience as a global investment manager. For more information, please visit www.digitalcolony.com.