Baker McKenzie has advised the Franco-Irish telecom operator, BSO Networks, in the context of its acquisition of Apsara Networks, an American operator specialising in ultra-low latency telecommunications. This type of telecommunication is used by the main American financial centres (NYSE, NASDAQ and CBOT) for high-frequency trading.
 
By integrating Apsara’s wireless technology into its fibre-optics network, BSO consolidates its position as one of the leading operators used by traders. 

To help finance this transaction, BSO has opened up its capital to the private American equity fund, Abry Partners. Abry Partners’ investment in BSO should facilitate new investments in support services. 

Michael Ourabah, Founder and CEO of BSO declared: “The acquisition of Apsara Networks enables us to offer unrivalled low-latency access, network resiliency and enhanced managed services to clients.”

Baker McKenzie advised BSO-Networks with a team led by Matthieu Grollemund, partner, and Christian Blomet, partner, assisted by Hélène Parent, associate, together with Steven Canner and Nathaniel Douglas from the Washington D.C. and New York offices.

Hugo Roy, associate, worked on telecom aspects, while Jérémie Paubel, partner, and Meredith Kaufman (New York) provided labor expertise. Kai Kramer (Houston) and Patricia McDonald (New York) provided tax expertise and Sylwia Lis and Rod Hunter (Washington DC) worked on CFIUS aspects.