BT buys Comsat to boost Latin American reach

[BGonaSTICK]

British telecoms group BT Group Plc said on Friday it had agreed to buy data communication service provider Comsat International to expand its reach in Latin America.

BT did not disclose the price it would pay for Virginia, U.S.-headquartered Comsat, but a source close to the company put the number at around 100 million pounds ($200 million).

"This acquisition significantly enhances BT's position in the increasingly important Latin American market. It also underlines our commitment to providing world class services to our customers wherever they do business," said Francois Barrault, president of BT International.

Barrault told Sources that Comsat was BT's 18th acquisition in two years, and the group remained on the lookout for more deals. Previous deals by BT include U.S.-based Infonet, Albacom and I.Net in Italy.

"I don't think we're going to stop there," he said in an interview. The latest acquisition will give BT's Global Services arm access to 15 Latin American markets and some 700 people, boosting its ability to serve large multinational corporations in these markets.

BT has been steadily boosting the capabilities of its Global Services unit that provides communications and technology services to large global corporations through a string of acquisitions, as it increasingly depends on this division to compensate for its declining fixed-line business in the UK. BT said privately held Comsat had gross assets of $145 million at the end of 2005 and around 2,000 customers across Latin America.

Comsat owns domestic networks in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela and throughout Central America. The company also provides services in Turkey.