Lumen To Sell its EMEA Operation to Colt For $1.8 Billion

Lumen has announced that it will sell its Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) operations to Colt in a $1.8 billion deal. The deal will see Lumen divest its EMEA business, including its data centers, terrestrial and subsea networks, and network equipment in the EMEA region, to Colt. The deal is expected to be completed in late 2023.

The CEO and President of Lumen, Jeff Storey, said: "We are continuing to execute on portfolio optimization at Lumen, creating additional value for our shareholders by monetizing non-strategic assets at accretive multiples. This transaction would enhance our focus so we can invest more efficiently in our most strategic opportunities – our key Enterprise and Quantum Fiber initiatives – and partner with regional leaders like Colt in Europe and Cirion in Latin America to continue serving our multinational enterprise customers."

The CEO of Colt, Keri Gilder, also commented on the transaction. She said, "This transaction would mark the next chapter in Colt's exciting story of global growth and world-class innovation. We're deeply committed to building extraordinary connections for our people, customers, and partners across our digital infrastructure. This acquisition would strengthen and extend these connections across existing and new geographies, helping us to accelerate growth and bring the power of the digital universe closer to our customers."

Lumen currently has up to 66,000km of fiber across the European continent, spreading across Turkey, Scotland, Norway, Ireland, and Finland. Lumen's subsea network also includes 39,000 cables across the English Channel, the Irish Sea, and the US. It also has 11 data centers which are either owned or leased in its portfolio.