Brasil TecPar closes its biggest M&A with US$70mn acquisition of ISPs

Telecom company Brasil TecPar announced a deal to acquire control of internet service providers (ISPs) ALT, GGNet and ItelFibra, a group known as “ALT-GGNet”, for 376 million reais (US$68.1mn).

This is the company's biggest acquisition since it launched operations 29 years ago, the company said in a statement.

The ALT-GGNet group of ISPs operates in telecom networks, internet access services, IT and datacenter services and has gross annual revenues of around 384mn reais.

“The acquisition of the operations of ALT, GGNet and ItelFibra by Brasil TecPar represents the largest movement in terms of revenue volume and expansion of the long-distance network (backbone), representing an important milestone in the company’s strategic plan,” Brasil TecPar said in a statement.

With the acquisition, Brasil TecPar adds 133,000 new customers, 720 employees and more than 50,000km of backbone, with fiber optic coverage in 59 cities. The operations acquired are concentrated in Santa Catarina and Paraná states.

According to Brasil TecPar, the move bolsters its strategy to become one of the top five connectivity and technology companies in Brazil by 2027.

At present, according to June data from regulator Anatel, the company has over 682,000 customers of internet and fixed telephony, and has a 1.3% share of the country's fixed broadband market.

It is the 11th largest fixed broadband player in the market. Considering only ISPs (excluding national telcos Vivo, Oi, Claro and TIM), the company ranks seventh.

The deal still requires approvals from Anatel and antitrust watchdog Cade.