BT to acquire i2i Enterprise Ltd

BT set to become the leading global carrier in the India market

6 February 2007 - BT today announced that it has signed an agreement for the acquisition of i2i Enterprise Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai-based enterprise services company specialising in internet protocol (IP) communications services for major Indian and global multinational companies. The acquiring entity is BT Telecom India Pvt Ltd, BT’s joint venture company with Jubilant Enpro Pvt Ltd.

i2i is one of the most comprehensive and innovative providers of enterprise telecoms services in the Indian market today, and is the distributor of BT Infonet’s managed network services and products nationwide.

Andy Green, CEO, BT Global Services, said: “BT will become the biggest foreign global carrier operating in India today as the result of this deal. The acquisition of i2i is exciting because it places BT at the heart of the world’s fastest growing IT and business process outsourcing market. This will help BT build a broad-based platform for growth in India, and create a single BT-branded channel to the Indian market. India is a cornerstone in our global expansion plans and this investment underlines our commitment to growth from India. BT continues to execute its global mission to be the leader in the delivery of converged networked services"

Prakash Jain, Chairman and CEO, i2i, said: “Through our work together as an indirect channel in the Indian market for BT Infonet, BT has gained a great insight and appreciation of i2i’s entrepreneurial culture and clear focus on outstanding customer service. BT will integrate the strengths of both companies, resulting in a compelling service offering to overseas and local multinational customers.”

i2i Enterprises has around 200 people in India and as at the last audited balance sheet date of 31st March 2006, the gross assets of i2i were approximately US$22.5 million.

In November 2006, BT Telecom India applied for licenses to provide National Long Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance (ILD) services, and was issued Letters of Intent (LoI) in December 2006 by the Government of India, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), as a first step prior to the award of licenses.



About i2i Enterprise Pvt Ltd
Established in 1992, i2i provides global managed network services in arrangement with BT Infonet. Within a span of about three years, i2i has emerged as a leading global managed services provider with a significant customer base in the IT, ITES and BFSI segments.

Headquartered in Mumbai, i2i has network operating centers and offices in all major commercial cities in India. With around 200 technical, sales and other professional staff, i2i is known for its customised managed telecom services and excellent service delivery.

i2i is one of the few companies in India with licences to provide international long distance (ILD), national long distance (NLD), nationwide ISP, and internet telephony services.

Their mission is “to be the preferred telecom solutions provider by exceeding customer expectations.”



About BT Telecom India Pvt Ltd
BT Telecom India Pvt. Ltd. is a subsidiary of BT Group plc, a global leader in networked IT services. BT Telecom India Pvt Ltd was established pursuant to a joint venture agreement with Jubilant Enpro Pvt. Ltd., a New Delhi-based company engaged in the businesses of oil and gas, food and services. Under the joint venture agreement, BT holds a 74 per cent interest, for which it contributed approximately £800,000 (US$1.6 million) in cash while Jubilant Enpro holds 26 per cent.

Jubilant Enpro is a member company of Jubilant Group, a business group having diverse business interests with Jubilant Organosys as the flagship company and which is a public limited company listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in India.

Note to editors:
The BT strategy for India is focused on employing market leading networked IT services to meet the needs of Indian customers as they globalise and global customers with operations in India.

In 2006, BT announced the appointment of Indian national CS Rao as managing director of BT India. The company also set up a new joint venture company, BT Telecom India Pvt Ltd, with Jubilant Enpro in November 2006.

BT Telecom India Pvt Ltd is a subsidiary of BT plc, a global leader in networked IT services with a customer base of over 20 million.

BT has stated strong growth plans for its Indian operations, predicting that its revenues from India will be US$250 million by 2009.

BT employs over 15,000 people in Asia Pacific (both directly and indirectly), of which the majority is based in India. BT is looking to increase its Indian employee strength by hiring an additional 6,000 people within the next two years.

In the past three years, BT in Asia Pacific has invested more than US$100 million in rebuilding its regional network. In February 2006, BT announced a US$21 million investment in a global IP-based voice platform which will see the current legacy TDM network replaced by an MPLS-based network across over 30 countries worldwide. BT has plans to invest a significant portion of this in India.

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