BT to acquire i2i Enterprise

The telecommunications giant made the announcement yesterday at the RSA Conference 2007 in San Francisco, and said that the Asian firm will specialise in internet protocol (IP) communications services for major Indian and global multinational companies.

"BT will become the biggest foreign global carrier operating in India today as the result of this deal," said Andy Green, CEO at BT Global Services.

"This will help us build a broad-based platform for growth in India and create a single BT-branded channel to the Indian market. India is a cornerstone in our global expansion plans as we continue to execute our global mission to be the leader in the delivery of converged networked services."

i2i specialises in enterprise IP communications services and is already the distributor of BT’s Infonet managed network services in India.

BT would not reveal the cost of the acquisition, but analysts believe the deal could be worth US$100 million.

Earlier this month, the British corporation bought the California-based IT consulting firm, International Network Services (INS), to join its growing global services IT group.

In October last year, BT acquired another Californian firm, the managed security services company, Counterpane, for nearly US$40 million, as part of its strategy to expand and develop its global professional services capabilities.

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