Livingstone advised KGPCo on partnership with Circet
Livingstone is pleased to announce the exciting partnership between KGPCo, Livingstone’s long-standing client, a leading communications infrastructure services provider and product distributor in the U.S., and Circet, Europe’s largest communications network services provider. Circet is backed by its management and London-based Intermediate Capital Group (ICG). Livingstone acted as exclusive financial advisor to KGPCo.
The combination of Circet’s existing network infrastructure services scale and market-leading presence across Europe with KGPCo’s extensive network infrastructure services and supply chain solutions throughout the United States creates one of the largest network infrastructure services providers in the North American and European communications markets, with combined global infrastructure services revenue of $3.1 billion. This revenue excludes KGPCo’s telecommunication supply chain management and product distribution business revenue.
KGPCo and Circet currently support the most extensive integrated telecommunication services providers across North America and Europe, supported by over 13,000 employees, over 200 regional facilities, and decades of experience and trust that drive significant value to existing customers and suppliers and the industry overall.
Circet acquired a majority stake in KGPCo Services (formerly BlueStream Professional Services) alongside KGPCo’s founders (the Putrah family) and the management team. Through this partnership, KGPCo Services will focus on accelerating its expansion throughout the North American communications infrastructure services industry, including design, engineering, construction, and maintenance of both inside and outside wireline and wireless networks. Circet will bring its expertise in managing large network services projects, especially for fiber construction, where it has extensive experience associated with the massive deployment phase throughout Europe.
Circet and KGPCo are poised to achieve strong organic growth on the back of the unprecedented demand in the United States for the deployment of fiber (FTTx), wireless networks (5G), and cloud solutions, as well as to implement additional external growth with the support of ICG as a capital partner.
To further strengthen the Circet-KGPCo partnership, Circet also became a minority shareholder of KGPCo’s supply chain and product distribution business (branded KGPCo), which will continue as a provider of advanced supply chain and logistics services, product sourcing, cloud engineering, and integration services. KGPCo remains a certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) despite the transaction. Circet and KGPCo will continue to utilize KGPCo’s trusted supply chain expertise to offer customers a combined product and services turn-key deployment approach that is highly efficient and unique to the industry.
“KGPCo has demonstrated a long history of organic and acquisition-led growth, resulting in the Company’s market leadership in a massive industry benefitting from undeniable tailwinds. This partnership will allow KGPCo to accelerate its many global expansion initiatives alongside a proven and deeply capitalized growth partner in the rapidly evolving communications infrastructure space,” commented Ryan Buckley, Partner at Livingstone.
For a period of nearly 15 years, Livingstone has advised KGPCo on numerous transformational transactions, including the acquisitions of Embarq Logistics from Embarq Corporation (now known as Lumen Technologies), the professional services business of TE Connectivity (NYSE: TEL), the Canadian assets of Hutton Communications, and TriNet Communications.
The KGPCo transaction represents another successful closing in an extensive list of global communications infrastructure and essential services transactions. In the last 36 months, Livingstone has closed ~20 deals in the space, including nearly 15 transactions for the vitronet Group closed over the last 30 months and four add-on transactions for Amadys Group in the last 15 months.
Felhaber Larson acted as legal counsel to KGPCo, while Deloitte provided accounting services. Lazard acted as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal counsel to Circet.
