British company acquires key Serbian “internet highway” – 860 km of main optic routes in Serbia now owned by EXA Infrastructure

The British company EXA Infrastructure has announced that it has signed an agreement to purchase longhaul network assets of the Serbian company Conexio, comprising two high-density polyethylene (HDPE) ducts spanning 860 km, existing cables, and 15 points of presence (PoP) locations. The value of the transaction is not disclosed.

EXA Infrastructure is the largest dedicated digital infrastructure platform throughout Europe, with over 20 years of experience and 155,000 kilometers of fiber network across 37 countries, including six transatlantic cables and the lowest latency link between Europe and North America.

Conexio doo Beograd, which is owned by the Luxembourgish investment fund Madison Debt Holdings, provides dark fiber and colocation services across Serbia. Constructed in 2011, the Conexio network follows the main Serbian motorways, offering the shortest border-to-border routes with low latency and high reliability. The network connects the key Serbian cities of Belgrade, Niš, and Novi Sad, linking to the international borders of Croatia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and North Macedonia, where it interconnects with all major carriers, the press release says.

These are, then, key Serbian internet routes, which connect the biggest cities in Serbia with the borders of the countries in the region, which makes them a strategic “internet highway” through the Balkans. This is confirmed by an EXA Infrastructure official, who pointed our that, following the acquisition, the company operated the leading homogeneous network connecting Western Europe to the Balkans, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, and beyond.

– The purchase of the Conexio assets is core to our strategy to create the most reliable, modern infrastructure network in Europe. Conexio’s assets integrate seamlessly with our previous acquisitions of Unitel in Croatia and GCN in Bulgaria – Steve Roberts, Senior Vice President of Strategic Investments at EXA Infrastructure, commented on the deal.

The transaction also includes the transfer of existing customer contracts, ensuring a seamless continuation of services.

The transaction is expected to complete subject to customary closing conditions, including certain conditions precedent as well as regulatory approvals.

What this investment means for Serbia

The arrival of EXA Infrastructure in Serbia is a step towards the digital highway of the Balkans, given that EXA already owns networks in Croatia and Bulgaria. The acquisition of Conexio closes the ring connecting Western Europe with Greece and Turkey - through Serbia.

Fiber optic backbones are the “backbone” of the internet because they form the main data traffic routes, so thanks to this largest private transaction of fiber optic international channels in the country in recent years, Serbia will gain faster, more reliable and stable digital routes, with direct connections to Europe and global markets.

The entry of a large international infrastructure player into the Serbian market could attract global cloud and IT companies, for which trust and low latency are crucial.

Conexio doo Beograd

EXA Infrastructure

Conexio doo Beograd

Madison Debt Holdings

Steve Roberts

main optic infrastructure

purchase