Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) said it has completed the sale announced in July 2021 of its Latin American business to Stonepeak for $2.7 billion in cash (see "Lumen agrees to sell Latin American business to Stonepeak"). The unit will now operate as an independent portfolio company of Stonepeak under the name Cirion. Former Lumen LATAM Regional President Facundo Castro will serve as CEO of Cirion, alongside the current executive team and existing employees as well as recent executive hires.
Lumen and Cirion have established a strategic relationship that includes reciprocal reselling and network arrangements that leverage each company’s fiber networks, data centers, and other network assets.
Lumen plans to use the money from the sale to invest in growth areas and support the company's other capital allocation priorities, including ongoing debt paydown. "This divestiture is an important step in achieving Lumen's strategic goals as we sharpen our focus on key strategic assets while also providing our LATAM employees and customers an opportunity for continued growth," commented Jeff Storey, Lumen’s president and CEO. "This transaction also positions our Lumen Platform for long-term growth, allowing Lumen to invest in a strategic mix of assets and alliances that allows us to deliver what our customers want anywhere in the world."
Cirion will serve more than 6,400 Latin America-based and multinational customers, including enterprises, government agencies, cloud service providers, wireline and wireless carriers, ISPs, and other business sectors. Cirion owns and operates a facilities-based network and data center portfolio across Latin America.
"We share Jeff's excitement about Cirion's opportunity in Latin America, given the platform's strong footprint and ambition to continue expanding its fiber and data center network across the entire region," said Andrew Thomas, Stonepeak managing director and co-head of communications. "We are excited to partner with the Cirion team and apply our experience as active investors in global digital infrastructure to drive sustainable long-term growth."
For related articles, visit the Business Topic Center.
For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.
To stay abreast of fiber network deployments, subscribe to Lightwave’s Service Providers and Datacom/Data Center newsletters.