ASK4 announces agreement to be acquired by GI Partners
January 17, 2024
ASK4, Europe's leading provider of critical in-building Internet connectivity to the multi-tenant real estate sector, today announced that GI Partners, a leading investor in critical data infrastructure businesses, has signed a definite agreement to acquire the company from Bowmark Capital. ASK4 will be GI Partners' first data infrastructure investment in Europe. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.
Based in Sheffield, U.K., ASK4 provides managed Internet, IT and IoT services across 12 European countries supporting over 320,000 customers. With the support of its current investment partners, Bowmark Capital, ASK4 has solidified its leading position in its core markets and strategically expanded into new segments.
"ASK4's purpose is to support people and communities to be connected, allowing them to live life and work productively in their homes and workspaces," said Andrew Dutton, CEO of ASK4. "We have enjoyed a fantastic partnership with Bowmark over the last five years and we are excited about the future with GI as we continue to develop the ways we support existing clients and expand the delivery of our services into multi-tenant communities across Europe and North America."
"ASK4's core proposition is the delivery of fully managed Wi-Fi connectivity within multi-tenant buildings serving students, working professionals and people in retirement. We are delighted to partner with Andrew Dutton and the ASK4 team to execute a focused geographical, sector and service expansion effort," said Matt Barker, Managing Director and Head of Europe for GI Data Infrastructure. "ASK4's technical and service excellence is uniquely positioned to provide real estate investors and operators with market leading services that drive retention, re-bookings and improved net operating income."
Mark Prybutok and Brendan Scollans, Co-Heads of GI Data Infrastructure, added "We are pleased to be announcing our first European investment for GI Partners' Data Infrastructure strategy. We have tracked the development of ASK4 for many years, and our teams in Europe and the U.S. worked closely together to execute on this investment. ASK4's balance of high-quality contracted revenues and attractive value-add growth prospects makes it a very well-suited addition to the GI Data Infrastructure portfolio."
We are pleased to be announcing our first European investment for GI Partners' Data Infrastructure strategy. We have tracked the development of ASK4 for many years, and our teams in Europe and the U.S. worked closely together to execute on this investment. ASK4's balance of high-quality contracted revenues and attractive value-add growth prospects makes it a very well-suited addition to the GI Data Infrastructure portfolio.
About ASK4
ASK4 is headquartered in Sheffield, United Kingdom and is the leading provider of managed Internet services to multi-tenant buildings in 12 European countries. ASK4 is dedicated to providing reliable high-speed Internet and connecting communities ensuring they can live life and work productively. For more information, please visit www.ASK4.com.
About GI Partners
Founded in 2001, GI Partners is a private investment firm with over 150 employees and offices in San Francisco, New York, Dallas, Chicago, Greenwich, Scottsdale, and London. The firm has raised more than $41 billion in capital and invests on behalf of leading institutional investors around the world through its private equity, real estate, and data infrastructure strategies. The private equity team invests primarily in companies in the healthcare, services, and software sectors. The real estate strategy focuses primarily on technology and life sciences properties as well as other specialized types of real estate. The data infrastructure team invests primarily in hard asset infrastructure businesses underpinning the digital economy. For more information, please visit www.gipartners.com/.