Italian electric company Enel to buy Ufinet International for $2.3 bln

Italian electric company Enel agreed on a deal that could see it spend more than 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) to buy Latin American fiber company Ufinet International, as the company looks to advance its ultrafast broadband ambitions.

Enel said that its X unit would buy a 21 percent stake in Ufinet for 150 million euros ($175 million) with an option to buy the rest from owner Cinven for 1.32-2.1 billion euros. It also said that the deal further strengthens its position as a leading infrastructure operator in the region and also allows it to strengthen its international reach through a series of acquisitions.

In a separate statement, Ufinet said that the investment move would allow it to create the biggest telecom infrastructure company in Latin America, taking advantage of Enel’s presence in the area.

Earlier this month, Enel paid almost $1.5 billion to buy 73 percent of Brazilian power company Eletropaulo.