London, 09th January 2018 – Global network provider BSO has acquired Apsara Networks, a leading supplier of wireless connectivity to financial markets.
By integrating Apsara’s wireless microwave technology into its fibre-optic global network, BSO solidifies its position as a top provider of electronic trading connectivity to exchanges and market makers. Apsara’s wireless microwave network connects some of the world’s most important liquidity venues, including its New Jersey route spanning Nasdaq, NYSE and BATS.
To help fund the transaction and support future growth, BSO has opened up its capital to Boston-based private equity fund Abry Partners. Abry has taken a minority investment in BSO to provide capital for the Apsara acquisition, and to facilitate further investment to enhance customer service and support systems.
Commenting on the deal, Michael Ourabah, Founder and CEO of BSO said: “The acquisition of Apsara Networks enables us to offer unrivalled low-latency access, network resiliency and enhanced managed services to clients across established and emerging markets. Being able to deliver the next generation of trading infrastructure through this acquisition truly cements our market-leading position. Abry’s proven experience and additional capital has been pivotal to making this deal happen, and to providing us with the resources needed to accelerate our future expansion plans.”
Nicolas Massard, Partner at Abry added: “BSO is an industry front-runner with a renowned reputation for innovation in low-latency connectivity and managed services. We are thrilled about this investment, particularly as demand for new fintech solutions is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.”
BSO was advised on the transaction by Alexis Kalmanovitz at Zelig Associates and Matthieu Grollemund at Baker McKenzie. Abry was advised by Joshua Kogan at Kirkland & Ellis, Apsara Networks was advised by Kimberly Taylor at Morgan Lewis & Bockius. Terms of the deal are undisclosed.
BSO is pursuing future external growth opportunities supported by its experienced C-level team of Emmanuel Pelle, Chief Operating Officer and Fraser Bell, Chief Revenue Officer.
About BSO
BSO is the Ethernet network, cloud and hosting provider of choice for global businesses wanting superior technology infrastructure and connectivity to the world’s most dynamic marketplaces. The company pioneers technology across emerging and established markets, designing solutions that offer the highest availability and lowest latency in the industry. Headquartered in London, BSO’s global network reaches every continent and spans 20 countries with 91 data centre locations.
BSO is redefining connectivity through best-in-class services, global knowledge base and a unique approach to the customer experience. The company continually strives to innovate and invest in its own services to ensure its solutions evolve in parallel with the finance community. For more information, please visit www.bsonetwork.com. Follow BSO on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About Abry Partners
Abry Partners is one of the most experienced and successful media, communications, business and information services-focused private equity investment firms in North America, having completed over $62bn worth of leveraged transactions and other private equity, mezzanine or preferred equity placements since its founding in 1989.
About Apsara Networks
Apsara Networks is the leading vendor of high performance wireless telecom solutions in the New York and New Jersey Metro market. Designed for latency-sensitive clients such as High Frequency Trading firms, high-speed systematic hedge funds, and electronic market makers, Apsara’s wireless network enables the high speed acquisition of market data and the low-latency routing of order to execution venues.