Interoute Buys TPN

LONDON -- Interoute, owner of Europe’s most advanced next-generation voice and data network, today announced it has acquired Telecom Partners Network (TPN), a leading Bulgarian telecommunications company, offering a wide range of voice, data and internet services to corporate customers through its national MPLS network.

This acquisition provides a springboard for further expansion in South East Europe and Turkey for Interoute, as the move comes ahead of Bulgaria’s potential accession to the European Union in January 2007. In terms of the Balkan countries looking to enter the EU, most existing member states favour membership for Bulgaria and Romania at present.

TPN was selected by Interoute in the region due to its strong business model and the close fit in relation to Interoute’s product portfolio. The acquisition gives Interoute immediate scale in the corporate market in Bulgaria - with a base of 170 new key customers.

According to domain name registration company, Verisign, the country has experienced rapid internet growth in the last year. From 2005 through to the first half of 2006, the registrations of .com and .net domain names in Bulgaria had nearly 40% growth rate; while the total growth of all domain names in Bulgaria stands at 42% over the last year. In terms of individual internet users, there are now over 2 million in the country to date.

Figures from the InvestBulgaria Agency state that over 13,000 Bulgarians have received IT and communications accreditations and qualifications from academy programmes run by companies such as Cisco, Oracle and HP. Over 24,500 jobs have now been created in the ICT industry in Bulgaria, with these figures set to rise.

James Kinsella, Interoute’s executive chairman said: “We’re delighted that the acquisition of TPN establishes a stronger connection with this culturally rich business region. Interoute is at the forefront of network innovation and this is just one example of our continuing commitment to pushing the boundaries of communications in new areas. This move supports our strategy of eastward expansion and brings us new opportunities for growth.”

The deal is another demonstration of Interoute’s commitment to developing the most advanced and largest next generation network in Europe. The acquisition was enabled by the recent investment in Interoute of €125 million by Dubai Holdings.

Interoute Communications Ltd.