Cable & Wireless Buys 5 European ISPs

Cable & Wireless, the global telecommunications group today (18 July 2000) announced a further US$100 million expansion in its IP related acquisition programme in Europe, with the purchase of a further five internet related businesses, adding significantly to Cable & Wireless' IP capability and product range around Europe.

The companies acquired in this latest programme are:

Pictime based in Lille, France was founded in 1995 and provides Internet services to medium and large sized businesses throughout France. It also has clients based in Brussels. Pictime is a fast growing design and engineering service provider led by a knowledgeable and skilled management. With 50 employees the company provides their 1,000 business customers with a range of services including added value B2B ISP services, web site design and application design.

POP Point of Presence GmbH is an Internet Service Provider, based in Hamburg, offering services to small and medium sized enterprises throughout Germany. It operates as a full service Internet provider within the SME market. Its portfolio includes access, web design and hosting, server housing, e-commerce consultancy and training. Employing 120 people, POP has approximately 3,500 business customers and 11 points of presence throughout Germany.

Widexs BV is the largest independent hosting company in the Netherlands, offering shared (virtual) and dedicated hosting services to SMEs as well as co-location services. Based in Hoofddorp, near Amsterdam, Widexs employs 15 people and hosts some 23,000 domain names in the Netherlands and is growing by 300-400 customers each week. The company is fifth in terms of domain name registration in the Dutch market.

Impact Group is a focussed and high quality network integrator with expertise directly aligned with Cable & Wireless' strategy of delivering IP and data services to business customers. Located near Utrecht, Holland, with a satellite office in Belgium, Impact has 30 employees with a strong customer base including a considerable number of ISPs/ASPs in the Netherlands.

Eaisa Group is a well-established network integrator based in Barcelona, Spain. Its core business is the supply and installation of cabling and networking services primarily focused in Catalunya. Eaisa employs 60 people and is developing a range of new services, which include system audits, security offerings, network management and e business services.

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