Network M&A: BSO Buys IX Reach

Two privately held global connectivity providers joined forces this morning. The financial networking specialist BSO has announced the purchase of IX Reach, making its third acquisition in the past 18 months.

IX Reach was reborn two years ago when its original founder Stephen Wilcox reacquired the company and other assets when Console was broken up. The company has since gone on to establish itself in the SDN-powered interconnection world, hooking up clouds, carriers, content providers, and data centers across 170 PoPs worldwide.

BSO’s network prior to today’s deal was of similar scale, connecting key financial exchanges and destinations around the world. We had BSO’s CEO Michael Ourabah on here for an Industry Spotlight a couple years ago.  The combined company claims a footprint of 330+ PoPs now, with a diverse ecosystem of partners and customers.

The combination of low latency financial trading connectivity with SDN-powered automation within the wholesale space is an interesting one. BSO might take a variety of paths from here, and we will just have to watch and see which ones they choose to focus on.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. KPMG, Locke Lord, and Crowe advised on the acquisition.

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Categories: Interconnection · Low Latency · Mergers and Acquisitions