C&W to buy PSINet Japan

The decision by Cable & Wireless to purchase PSINet Japan from PSINet for $10.2 million last week marks the third in a string of recent moves to shore up its offerings in the U.S., Europe and Japan.

PSINet Japan offers Internet access and Web hosting services to business users there. Pending approval, the acquisition lets C&W, which operates a subsidiary in Japan called Cable & Wireless IDC, round out its backbone and service offerings in the Asia-Pacific region.

In the U.S., C&W has been beefing up its Web hosting network and service offerings. Two weeks ago, C&W announced plans to acquire Exodus Communications for $850 million. In May, the service provider acquired Digital Island for $340 million.

Although C&W has an agreement to acquire PSINet Japan, PSINet is operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This means that other "qualified bidders" may try to buy PSINet Japan in a supervised court auction that is customary in bankruptcy proceedings. In fact, C&W is dealing with the same situation with its planned acquisition of Exodus.

However, if all goes as planned, C&W will integrate PSINet Japan into its Cable & Wireless IDC subsidiary early next year.

Contact Senior Editor Denise Pappalardo

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