Another independent Internet provider is swallowed up by a larger telecommunications company. The Montreal company oxio fell into the fold of the cable company Cogeco.
Cogeco announced on Tuesday the acquisition of oxio, founded in 2019. The transaction follows a series of recent acquisitions of independent suppliers. The EBOX and Distributel companies passed into the bosom of Bell. VMedia, for its part, was acquired by Videotron.
Before the transaction, Cogeco was the only telecommunications company that operated under a single brand, notes analyst Jérôme Dubreuil of Desjardins Capital Markets. “Having a second brand targeting another segment could expand Cogeco’s market, which we welcome. »
The company did not mention the amount of the transaction, but Mr. Dubreuil evaluates it between 20 million and 35 million dollars. He believes that the contribution of oxio to Cogeco’s profits would be limited.
The president of Cogeco Connexion, Frédéric Perron, underlined, in a press release, that oxio had a high satisfaction rate on the part of its customers for its residential Internet service “based on an entirely digital experience”. Cogeco intends to let oxio operate as an independent business.
The announcement comes as the cable company considers making the leap into wireless. Its big boss, Philippe Jetté, said in January that the conditions were “promising” and that the Montreal company should present a detailed plan in this regard by the end of the year. The decision is still conditional on the details of the regulatory framework allowing it to lease access to the network of the major Canadian telecommunications companies, namely Bell, Telus and Rogers.
Mr. Dubreuil does not believe that a foray into wireless is the only reason for the transaction, but he adds that it would make more sense if Cogeco decided to take the leap. Adding oxio gives it a bigger footprint and gives it a brand from which it could decide to sell wireless services.