EXA completes Aqua Comms subsea network acquisition

EXA completes Aqua Comms subsea network acquisition is a Public briefing based on external evidence, participant context, and relationship signals.

EXA Infrastructure has finalised its purchase of Ireland-based subsea cable operator Aqua Comms, bringing multiple transatlantic and intra-European systems under its control. The deal expands EXA’s network reach, offering greater route diversity between North America and Europe to meet growing demand for AI, cloud and content traffic. What happened: EXA concludes subsea operator acquisition to extend network footprint EXA Infrastructure, a London-based digital network provider owned by independent investor I Squared Capital, has completed the acquisition of Aqua Comms, a specialist subsea cable operator headquartered in Ireland. Aqua Comms’s portfolio includes key submarine systems such as America Europe Connect-1 and -2 (AEC-1 and AEC-2), CeltixConnect-1 and -2 (CC-1 and CC-2), and a stake in the Amitié/AEC-3 transatlantic network. The integration of these assets into EXA’s existing network which already spans more than 160,000 kilometres of fibre across 37 countries significantly broadens its transatlantic and intra-European connectivity. Jim Fagan, Chief Executive Officer of EXA Infrastructure, said that customers will benefit from enhanced route diversity and resiliency across a unified subsea and terrestrial mesh. The transaction was first announced in early 2025 and has now cleared regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. While financial terms were not disclosed in the latest announcement, earlier reporting suggested the deal was struck at a relatively low valuation owing to market conditions faced by Aqua Comms’s previous owner, Digital 9 Infrastructure. Aqua Comms has built a reputation for supplying high-capacity fibre pairs, spectrum and wholesale network capacity to major carriers, cloud providers, content networks and enterprise clients. Its inclusion under EXA’s umbrella adds strategically important cable routes linking the United States, Ireland and continental Europe, offering low-latency transport and additional networks for growing data demands especially among hyperscale cloud and AI services. Also Read: Nvidia completes $5 billion stake acquisition in Intel Also Read: ABB expands data centre monitoring through IPEC acquisition Why it’s important The completion of the Aqua Comms acquisition is a pivotal moment in digital infrastructure consolidation, especially as traffic driven by artificial intelligence, cloud computing and media content continues to rise. Subsea cables form the backbone of global internet connectivity, carrying the majority of intercontinental data. By adding these cable systems, EXA Infrastructure enhances its ability to provide resilient, scalable routes between critical markets on both sides of the Atlantic. For enterprise and carrier customers, expanded route diversity reduces dependence on single pathways and improves resilience against outages or disruptions. In a market where network redundancy and low latency are essential for AI workloads and global cloud services, the deal positions EXA as a more comprehensive provider of digital transport solutions. Additionally, the transaction illustrates how infrastructure players are leveraging favourable market conditions to acquire key assets and accelerate growth amidst broader industry investment in undersea connectivity. See also: Carla Sanderson.