VSNL to acquire Teleglobe for $239mn

Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd on Monday announced the acquisition of Teleglobe International Holdings, a provider of wholesale voice, data, IP and mobile signalling services.

According to a release issued by VSNL to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday, the acquisition would be carried out through the amalgamation of Teleglobe with the company's subsidiary in Bermuda.

"The acquisition value would be $239 million comprising assumption of debt and payment of $4.50 per share to Teleglobe shareholders," the release added.

Headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda with a large operating centre in Montreal, Canada, Teleglobe has more than 1,400 wholesale customers, and carries over 13 billion minutes of voice traffic globally, the release said.

"VSNL's vision is to become a leading global player in wholesale voice and bandwidth and enterprise data services," N Srinath, director of VSNL, said.

"The agreement, coupled with the TGN acquisition and recently announced plans to expand into new markets, will move us closer to the size and network breadth needed to achieve this goal," he added.