Viatel Inc.
{{Short description|Irish technology company}}
{{use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{use Hiberno-English|date=June 2023}}
{{About|the global technology company|the Australian data service|Videotex#Australia}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Viatel Inc.
| successor = Viatel Technology Group
| hq_location_country = United States
| industry = Technology, telecommunications
| founded =
| logo =
| type =
| founder = Martin Varsavsky (original US company), Colm Piercy (divested Irish business)
}}
Viatel Inc., founded in the United States in 1991, was a Nasdaq-quoted technology company which operated fiber optic networks in several countries, including in the United Kingdom during the mid-1990s. Viatel Technology Group, a Dublin-based technology company focused primarily on the Irish market, was founded from some of the elements of Viatel Inc. following acquisition by Digiweb in 2013.
History
=Early years=
Viatel was founded in 1991, in Colorado, by Martin Varsavsky. In 1994, it went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Four years later, Varsavsky sold his stake in the company for US$200 million and left the company.{{cite magazine|last=Brown|first=Eric|title=The Connector|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0917/078.html|magazine=Forbes|accessdate=4 August 2013|quote=Martin Varsavsky has created three. In 1991 he launched Viatel, a pan-European telco that went public on the Nasdaq in 1994; he had put $230,000 into it, and he sold his stake later for $200 million. In 1998 he left Viatel to start Jazztel, a telecom network listed in Spain, and in the bubble his 20% stake was worth $1 billion.}} In 1999, Viatel's market capitalization reached US$1.2 billion.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.businessweek.com/stories/1999-11-28/undervalued-viatel|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130804105152/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/1999-11-28/undervalued-viatel|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 4, 2013|title=Undervalued Viatel?|magazine=Bloomberg Businessweek|accessdate=4 August 2013|quote=Viatel, a global provider of telecommunications services, has operations and assets in Europe much like those of KPNQwest. Yet Viatel's market cap is a mere $1.2 billion compared with KPNQwest's $19 billion}} At that time, Viatel's second-largest outside shareholder was George Soros, while the largest outside stake was held by the global telecommunications company COMSAT.{{cite news|last=Teitelbaum|first=Richard|url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1997/02/17/222204/index.htm|publisher=CNN (Fortune magazine)|accessdate=4 August 2013|title=Viatel A Cautionary Tale Wall Street Heavy Hitters Like George Soros Are Backing This Small, Shaky Telecom Outfit--But That Doesn't Mean You Should Too|date=17 February 1997}}
On 2 May 2001 Viatel Inc. and its all of its U.S. subsidies filed for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the state of Delaware.{{cite news |date=May 2, 2001 |title=Viatel seeks bankruptcy protection |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2001/may/03/1 |work=The Guardian}} In 2013 it was reported, in Süddeutsche Zeitung, that documents provided by Edward Snowden revealed that several telecom operators, including Viatel, had played a role in helping the British intelligence agency Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) to tap onto worldwide fiber-optic communications.{{cite news|last=John Goetz and Frederik Obermaier|title=Snowden enthüllt Namen der spähenden Telekomfirmen|url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/digital/internet-ueberwachung-snowden-enthuellt-namen-der-spaehenden-telekomfirmen-1.1736791|newspaper=Süddeutsche Zeitung|accessdate=2 August 2013|language=German|quote=In den internen Papieren des GCHQ aus dem Jahr 2009 stehen sie nun aufgelistet: Verizon Business, Codename: Dacron, British Telecommunications (codenamed "Remedy"), Vodafone Cable ("Gerontic"), Global Crossing ("Pinnage"), Level 3 (codenamed "Little"), Viatel ("Vitreous") und Interoute ("Streetcar").}}
=Sale to Digiweb and divestment of Viatel Technology Group<span class="anchor" id="Viatel Technology Group"></span>=
The European arm of Viatel was purchased, in May 2013, by the Irish telecoms operator Digiweb, with at least some Viatel investors retaining interests in the new setup.{{cite web |title=Digiweb Group acquires Viatel and VTLWaveNet |url=http://www.capacitymagazine.com/Article/3228780/Digiweb-Group-acquires-Viatel-and-VTLWaveNet.html |publisher=Capacity Magazine |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810011227/http://www.capacitymagazine.com/Article/3228780/Digiweb-Group-acquires-Viatel-and-VTLWaveNet.html |archive-date=August 10, 2014}}{{Cite news |last=Kennedy |first=John |date=2013-05-15 |title=Digiweb merger with Viatel creates pan-European fibre player|url=https://www.siliconrepublic.com/comms/digiweb-merger-with-viatel-creates-pan-european-fibre-player |access-date=2023-06-13 |work=Silicon Republic (technology news) |quote="Digiweb has merged with Viatel, a London-based telecoms operator ... will connect 34 Western European cities over an 8,500km fibre network. ... combined workforce of 200 and annual revenues of US$78m ... Investors in Viatel, including Morgan Stanley, are rolling their investment in Viatel into Digiweb Group and are investing additional equity to fund the introduction of new services. Viatel has invested US$1.5bn in constructing a low-latency 8,500km fibre network connecting 34 European cities." |language=en}} In November 2015, it was announced that Zayo was in the process of buying Viatel's UK and mainland Europe network, leaving the Irish network to continue under the name of Viatel; This €98.8m transaction was completed on 31 December 2015.{{Cite web|title = Zayo Closes Acquisition of Viatel in Europe {{!}} Zayo Group|url = http://www.zayo.com/uk/news/zayo-closes-acquisition-of-viatel-in-europe/|website = Zayo Group|access-date = 2016-02-02|language = en-GB}}
The remaining elements of Viatel, branded as the 'Viatel Technology Group', focused on the Irish and European markets, primarily providing business telecoms, cloud and cyber security services.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-02 |title=Viatel acquires Sungard's Irish operations and data centres |url=https://businessplus.ie/ma/viatel-acquires-sungard/ |access-date=2023-06-12 |language=en-GB}} In 2018, Paul Rellis, formerly of Microsoft, was appointed as CEO of the Digiweb Group, with Digiweb and Viatel as the main operating branches.{{Cite web |last=Kitson |first=Niall |date=2018-03-27 |title=Former Microsoft Ireland head Paul Rellis named Digiweb Group CEO |url=https://www.techcentral.ie/former-microsoft-ireland-head-named-digiweb-group-ceo/ |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=TechCentral.ie |language=en-GB}}
In 2020, Viatel Technology Group acquired Ripplecom and Irish Telecom Service.{{Cite news |title=Viatel forecasts €38m in revenues on back of Ripplecom acquisition |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/viatel-forecasts-38m-in-revenues-on-back-of-ripplecom-acquisition-1.4382073 |access-date=2023-06-12 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}}{{Cite news |title=Viatel makes second acquisition with deal to buy Irish Telecom |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/viatel-makes-second-acquisition-with-deal-to-buy-irish-telecom-1.4426653 |access-date=2023-06-12 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}} During 2021, the company acquired Skytel Networks and Nova Telecom.{{Cite news |title=Viatel snaps up Nova in its third acquisition in nine months |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/viatel-snaps-up-nova-in-its-third-acquisition-in-nine-months-1.4615704 |access-date=2023-06-12 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}} This was followed, in 2022, by the acquisition of ActionPoint,{{Cite news |title=Viatel snaps up Limerick-based ActionPoint |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/viatel-snaps-up-limerick-based-actionpoint-1.4774553 |access-date=2023-06-12 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}} Wifibre,{{Cite web |date=2022-02-22 |title=Wicklow wifi company bought by Viatel |url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wicklow/wicklow-district/wicklow-wifi-company-bought-by-viatel/41373157.html |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=Independent.ie |language=en}} and supportIT.{{Cite web |last=Taggart |first=Emma |date=2022-07-05 |title=Viatel acquires Irish IT services provider SupportIT |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/companies/arid-40911008.html |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=Irish Examiner |language=en}} Sungard AS Ireland was acquired in May 2023.{{Cite web |last=O’Dea |first=Blathnaid |date=2023-05-02 |title=Viatel snaps up Sungard, continuing its major growth spree |url=https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/viatel-sungard-availability-services-growth-acquisition |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=Silicon Republic |language=en}} By 2023, Viatel Technology Group had over 310 employees{{Cite web |last=Kennedy |first=John |date=2023-05-24 |title=Life isn't 'one size fits all' says Viatel {{!}} ThinkBusiness |url=https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/viatel-rubberstamps-hybrid-flexible-working/ |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=Think Business |language=en-US}} with offices in Dublin, Dundalk and Limerick.{{fact|date=July 2024}}
Viatel Technology Group was included, by Deloitte Ireland, on its 2022 list of "Ireland's Best Managed Companies".{{Cite web |title=2022 winners {{!}} Ireland's Best Managed Companies |url=https://www2.deloitte.com/ie/en/pages/best-managed-companies/articles/_winners.html |access-date=2023-06-27 |website=Deloitte Ireland |language=en | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20230612104645/https://www2.deloitte.com/ie/en/pages/best-managed-companies/articles/_winners.html | archivedate = 12 June 2023 }} In 2023, Viatel was named "Best Place to Work" at the Tech Excellence Awards,{{Cite web |title=Winners 2023 |url=https://techawards.techcentral.ie/winners-2023/ | website = techawards.techcentral.ie | accessdate = 11 July 2024 }} and Managed ICT Company of the Year by the Chambers Ireland InBUSINESS Recognition Awards.{{Cite web |title=InBusiness Recognition Awards Winners 2023 |url=https://inbusinessireland.com/inbusiness-recognition-awards-winners-2023/ |access-date=2023-06-27 |website=InBUSINESS Ireland |language=en-GB}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.viatel.com/ Viatel Technology Group]
Category:Telecommunications companies of the United Kingdom
Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001