23 September – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – International law office Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP, Frankfurt, acted as advisors to British voice and data network provider Interoute in the run-up to the acquisition of the European operating business of VIA NET.WORKS. The deal is expected to be closed by the end of October 2005 and is subject to assessment and approval by the competition watchdogs. The financial side to the transaction has been kept confidential.
Alongside the provider’s operating activities in France, Germany, and Spain, Interoute will also be integrating all the operating units belonging to PSINet Europe, VIA NET.WORKS hosting and outsourcing division, in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain.
Interoute expects the acquisition to boost sales by EUR 45 million a year. With its 18,000 kilometers of networks in nine countries, Interoute connects 48 different cities. A key network section is located in Germany. Moreover, Interoute operates metropolitan area networks (MANs) in 18 European business hubs, six of them in Germany.
During the negotiations, Interoute relied on the advice of a multi-national team from the London and Frankfurt offices of the international law company Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP. The transaction was thus supported by partners Peter Dickinson (London), Markus Strelow and Dr. Ulrike Binder (both Frankfurt) and an international team made up of Ingo Wallenborn and Dr. Martin Braun (Frankfurt) as well as David Bates, Chris McLoughlin, Stephen Pascoe and David Carpenter (London).
