Brazil’s IHS buys controlling stake in TIM’s fiber optic unit in $299 mln deal

Brazilian telecoms infrastructure company IHS has bought a 51% stake in fiber optics unit FiberCo in a deal worth 1.6 billion reais ($299 million), according to a securities filing on Wednesday.

Roughly 1 billion reais will be paid to TIM, which is owned by Telecom Italia, while 609 million reais will go to FiberCo, according to TIM’s exchange filing.

The deal values FiberCo at 2.6 billion reais. TIM will retain the other 49% of FiberCo and will serve as the fiber network’s main client.

According to TIM, FiberCo expects its network to reach 8.9 million households within four years, up from 6.4 million homes at present. Reuters