Videotron acquires fibre optic company Fibrenoire for $125 million

Quebecor Inc. CEO Pierre Dion arrives at the company's annual general meeting in Montreal, Thursday, June 19, 2014. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes)

MONTREAL -- Videotron Ltd. is spending $125 million to acquire Fibrenoire, a company which specializes in fibre optic connectivity for businesses.

Montreal-based Fibrenoire, which has 60 employees, operates a network of 4,500 kilometres of fibre optic cable in Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa and Toronto, and is now an independent subsidiary of Videotron.

Videotron, which already serves 125,000 companies through its fibre optic networks, coaxial cable and mobile network LTE, says the transaction will enable it to meet the growing demand from business customers for fibre optic connectivity.

Videotron, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Quebecor (TSX:QBR.B), says the three founding owners of Fibrenore will remain in their current positions with the company.

Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Dion says this and other recent acquisitions will increase its presence in growing market segments and further diversify the company's revenue streams.