Jersey Telecom has agreed to sell a majority stake in its IoT division to private equity investor Perwyn in a deal reported to be worth around £200 million.
Jersey Telecom will still retain a minority stake in JT IoT and will supply services to the new company.
The company says the sale has been made to help the division secure substantial investment, with the new owner specialising in providing risk capital to rapidly growing technology businesses.
Jersey Telecom says that JT IoT, which it founded in 2014 as part of an international expansion drive and which provides device connectivity services to customers worldwide, has doubled in size annually for the past three years.
The operator adds that there are close to 10 million JT SIMs in active use to date, with more than 500 roaming agreements in place with global operators.
Jersey Telecom chairman Phil Male said of the sale: “Now is the right time for JT to sell the majority of this business, in order to further turbocharge that success.
“Whilst retaining a minority stake and becoming a supplier to Jersey’s biggest technology business, we believe that in Perwyn we have a new owner for the business with the vision and risk appetite to fund and grow this young, dynamic and growing global Jersey business.”
Perwyn founder and managing director Andrew Wynn added: “We are confident this relationship will bring benefits to Jersey, as well as augmenting the island’s future attractiveness as an incubator for leading-edge innovative businesses.
“The process of dealing with JT and the island of Jersey during this transaction has been collaborative and productive.”
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