Digicel completes acquisition of Bermuda Telecom – Caribbean

Digicel completes acquisition of Bermuda Telecom – Caribbean

Caribbean and Central American mobile operator Digicel has completed the acquisition of Bermuda Telephone Company (BTC), according to local press reports.

The Bermuda Regulatory Authority (RAB) approved the sale on May 11. The transaction, which was announced in January, when Digicel offered 30mn Bermudian dollars (US$30mn) to buy BTC from Canada-led Barrie Holdings.

The acquisition will allow Digicel to offer triple play services on the island, combining BTC’s fixed voice and broadband with its own mobile offerings.

Digicel Bermuda CEO, Robin Seale, said, “Digicel is already heavily investing in increasing the capacity of our service and the acquisition of BTC will provide the framework to broaden that even further; growing our business.”

Digicel entered the Bermudan telecom market in 2012 after it acquired local operator Transact. The company held a 41% mobile market share last year, while the remaining 59% were CellOne users.

BTC accounted for 42% of broadband users last year, with CableVision leading the market with 45%.