Colt Technology Services has completed the acquisition of Lumen’s EMEA business for $1.8 billion. The deal, which was first announced last year, will see Colt expand its digital infrastructure and services across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and North America.

As part of the deal, Lumen has divested its EMEA assets, which include its terrestrial and subsea networks, data centers, and network services. Colt noted that the acquisition will also see the two companies enter into a partnership agreement that sees businesses in North America gain access to Colt’s digital infrastructure and services within and outside of North America.

Keri Gilder, CEO, Colt Technology Services said, “Closing this acquisition brings us to a momentous point in our growth journey and marks our deep commitment to our customers, helping them scale and grow. It brings us amazing new talent; extends our technology portfolio and our partner ecosystem; and significantly expands our digital infrastructure as we enter new markets across Eastern Europe, the UAE and parts of Africa.”

The acquisition will add 2,700 customers for Colt, including blue chip corporations, enterprises, and public sector customers. Colt also noted that the acquisition means it will expand its footprint too, expanding the reach of its services via PoPs (Points of Presence) in Dubai, Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Kenya, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, and Turkey.

London-based Colt currently owns digital infrastructure connecting 32,000 buildings across 230 cities, more than 50 metropolitan area networks, and 230 PoPs across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and North America’s largest business hubs.

Earlier this year, Colt confirmed the completion of its deployment of a new dark fiber (G.652D/G.657) cable along the Channel Tunnel connecting London to Paris.

For Colt customers, the benefits of this acquisition is significant. With Colt’s expanded network of digital infrastructure, its customers now have access to Colt’s increased scale and reach.