News & media Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Core+ Fund Further Diversifies with Irish Core Fibre Transaction
Cordiant’s first digital infrastructure fund, a Core+ vehicle listed on the London Stock Exchange under CORD, is pleased to announce that its acquisition Speed Fibre, a leading Irish provider of core fibre infrastructure, has received final regulatory approval.
Subsequent to this transaction, CORD’s portfolio will have pro forma 31March 2023 EBITDA of ca. $150 million acquired at an EV/EBITDA multiple of <11x. The portfolio contains tower platform Emitel, tower and data centre platform CRA, US interconnect data centre operator Hudson InterXchange, and core fibre platform Speed Fibre.
This acquisition therefore marks a further step in the Company’s portfolio diversification both in terms of assets and geography, and marks Cordiant Digital’s entry into the promising Irish wholesale fibre market.
Speed Fibre is a cash generative enterprise with a diversified base of blue-chip customers and an important role in Ireland’s digital fabric. Ireland is a market with significant ongoing demand growth and development potential, in particular driven by the fast-growing data centre sector. Speed Fibre’s network is at the heart of the Irish government’s digital framework (which has placed Ireland amongst the most digitally enabled economies in the European Union). As regards risk management, Speed Fibre has a strong sustainability focus, having recently been ranked #1 in Europe in the fibre networks sector with a GRESB score of 97/100; it is targeting net zero carbon emissions by 2040.
The equity consideration for the acquisition is €97 million, based on a total enterprise value of €190.5 million.
With the continuation of Speed Fibre’s existing senior loan facility with its current lenders (maturing in 2029), CORD has pro forma aggregate net gearing of approximately 38%. CORD’s annual cash pay obligation to investors is covered several times on an EBITDA basis and 1.8x on a free cash flow basis.
Steven Marshall, Chairman of Digital Infrastructure at Cordiant Capital, commented:
“We are delighted to welcome Speed Fibre into CORD’s portfolio, which is now further diversified by asset class and geography. Fibre remains an integral part of digital infrastructure, supporting economic growth and social connectivity. As we remain committed to our “Buy, Build, and Grow” model, the plan is to invest further in Speed Fibre’s network and work closely with the Irish government and local partners to extend high-speed digital access. This will nurture domestic innovation and provide a thriving ecosystem for both multi nationals and homegrown tech companies to flourish.”
Benn Mikula, Co-Head of Cordiant Digital and CEO of Cordiant Capital noted:
“Cordiant Digital remains resolutely focused on building shareholder value through the combination of increasing cash flow and NAV at portfolio companies as well as disciplined capital allocation, including promising investments such as Speed Fibre.”
Peter McCarthy, CEO of Speed Fibre, added:
“Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited is an ideal partner for Speed Fibre. As a permanent capital vehicle, it brings a combination of capital support and expertise to drive the business forward. In this industry, having an investor which can offer capital of this nature is key and, as a team, it gives us the comfort to be able to invest for the long term and grow.”
About the Investment Manager
Cordiant Capital Inc., the Company’s investment manager, is a sector-specialist investor with particular expertise and experience in digital infrastructure. It invests in global infrastructure and real assets, running infrastructure private equity and infrastructure private credit strategies through limited partnership funds and managed accounts. Its current client base consists of global insurance companies, pension plans and family offices. Cordiant has offices in London, Montreal, Sao Paulo and Luxembourg.
About Speed Fibre Group
Speed Fibre, Ireland’s leading open access fibre infrastructure provider, includes Enet and Magnet Plus. Further details about Speed Fibre can be found on its website at www.speedfibregroup.ie Enet is the manager of Ireland’s 88 metropolitan area networks (MANs) – fibre rings that connect 94 large regional towns to high-speed international networks. Aside from managing the MANs, under a government concession, Enet has a managed services contract for Irish Rail’s long-distance fibre backhaul network. It also owns key infrastructure such as the T5 ring which circles the M50 and connects many of the country’s biggest data centres. In total, Enet manages or owns 5,400km of fibre. The concession to run the MANs lasts until March 2030. Magnet Plus operates the country’s largest independent connectivity network. It provides connectivity for some of the world’s biggest technology companies, as well as telecommunications, data connectivity, and security services to both commercial and residential markets in Ireland, throughout Europe, the US and beyond.
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About Cordiant Capital
Cordiant is a specialist global infrastructure and real assets manager with a sector-led approach to providing growth capital solutions to promising mid-sized companies in Europe, North America and selected global markets. Since the firm’s relaunch in 2016, Cordiant–a partner-owned and -run firm–has developed a track record of exceeding mandated investment targets for our clients.
Cordiant focuses on the next generation of infrastructure and real assets: sectors (digital infrastructure, energy transition infrastructure and agriculture value chain) characterised by growth tailwinds; technological dynamism in how customers deploy the infrastructure Cordiant is financing; and a requirement for sustainability.
With a mix of managed funds offering both value-add and core strategies in equity and debt, our sector investment teams (combining seasoned industry executives with traditional private capital investors) work with investee companies to develop innovative, tailored financing solutions with a strong ESG and sustainability overlay, backed by a comprehensive understanding of the sector and demonstrated operating capabilities.
Press Release Disclaimer:
The risks associated with investing in the Fund are outlined in the prospectus. These risks are based upon the Fund’s investment objectives and strategies and describe the material risks of investing in that fund under normal market conditions when considering the Fund’s portfolio as a whole, not each individual investment within the portfolio. The material and information provided therein does not constitute investment advice and is for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to buy or sell any of the securities or fund(s) mentioned herein. It does not take into account any investor’s particular investment objectives, strategies or tax status. Professional advisors should be consulted before making any investment decision
Some of the statements in this press release may be forward-looking statements or statements of future expectations based on currently available information Factors such as the development of general economic conditions, future market conditions, unusual catastrophic loss events, changes in the capital markets and other circumstances may cause the actual events or results to be materially different from those anticipated by such statements. Cordiant Capital and its affiliates do not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or updated status of such statements. Therefore, in no case whatsoever will Cordiant Capital and its affiliate companies be liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in conjunction with the information and/or statements in this press release or for any related damages. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect Cordiant’s current expectations regarding future results or events. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this document and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. Although when making a forward-looking statement, Cordiant, as the case may be, believe that the assumptions inherent in this statement are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance.
