Videotron has acquired Fibrenoire, a company that provides businesses with fibre-optic connectivity services. The transaction will enable Videotron Business Solutions and Fibrenoire to join forces to meet the growing demand from business customers for fibre-optic connectivity. The purchase price was $125 million.
“We are very pleased to welcome Fibrenoire’s talented team to our ranks,” said Manon Brouillette, President and CEO of Videotron. “This transaction will strengthen Videotron’s leadership in the business telecom market. Combining our expertise and our distinct but complementary facilities will equip us to continue our growth in the Quebec business market.”
Videotron has acquired all the shares held by the founding shareholders and the majority shareholder, Novacap TMT, a buyout fund that specializes in tech, media and telecom. Fibrenoire is now an independent subsidiary of Videotron. Its head office and the approximately 60 employees who work there will remain in Montreal’s Park Extension neighbourhood. The three founding owners, Benjamin Desmarais, President, Rémi Fournier, Vice-President, Sales & Engineering, and Jean-François Lévesque, Chief Technology Officer, will stay in their current positions and continue contributing to the success their company has known since it was founded in 2007,
“Like other recent acquisitions by Quebecor and its subsidiaries, such as Mel’s Studios and Postproduction (formerly Global Vision), the addition of Fibrenoire will increase our presence in growing market segments and further diversify our revenue streams,” said Pierre Dion, President and CEO of Quebecor. “Videotron Business Solutions is thereby continuing its development while ensuring that the assets and expertise of a fast-growing company remain in Quebec hands.”
Impressive progress
Fibrenoire provides more than a thousand customers in the Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa and Toronto areas with connectivity services over a fibre-optic network spanning more than 4,500 km. In 2014, Fibrenoire ranked as Quebec’s fastest-growing company on the PROFIT 500 list, which measures Canadian companies’ 5-year revenue growth. In addition to its number 1 position in Quebec, Fibrenoire placed 9th in Canada.
“Our connection with Videotron will give us access to financial resources, technological depth and a fibre-optic network of more than 30,000 km available across Quebec,” said Benjamin Desmarais, President of Fibrenoire. “Those assets will enable us to better serve business customers. The deal is a win-win that combines our strengths and gives us the means to achieve our ambitions.”
Generating growth
“We are confident that Fibrenoire will be a good fit, as its highly entrepreneurial culture is very close to our own corporate values,” said Manon Brouillette. “This acquisition follows the takeover of 4Degrees in 2015, positioning us to meet growing business needs for cloud computing and connectivity, two highly complementary market segments.”
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