A listed investment trust is to wind down operations following the conclusion of a strategic review.
Digital 9 Infrastructure plc has invested in data centres, subsea fibre and wireless network assets since IPO in March 2021.
It will seek to sell its wholly-owned assets in the coming months.
These include Aqua Comms, owner and operator of 20,000km of subsea fibre systems; Elio Networks, an enterprise broadband provider that owns and operates fixed wireless access networks; EMIC-1, a partnership with Meta on a 10,000km fibre system from Europe to India; and SeaEdge UK1, a data centre and landing station for the North Sea Connect subsea cable, part of the North Atlantic Loop subsea network aiming to improve connectivity between the UK, Ireland, Scandinavia and North America.
It said it will not prioritise the sale of its stake in Arqiva, the only UK national terrestrial television and radio broadcasting network in the UK, although it will remain open to offers.
The sale of Verne Global, announced in November, “is progressing towards completion with all required approvals expected to be received by the end of Q1 2024”.
“Following careful consideration of the options available to the Company and after consultation with its financial advisers, as well as taking into account feedback received from a large number of shareholders and institutional investors, the board has determined that it would be in the best interests of shareholders as a whole to put forward a proposal for a managed wind-down of the company,” it said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.
The group will now convene a general meeting at which it will seek approval for its plans from shareholders.
Charlotte Valeur, interim independent chair of D9, said: “The board will assess the progress of the proposed asset sales on an ongoing basis and will continue to monitor other potential opportunities to realise income and capital value for shareholders as they arise. We will also continue to engage in active dialogue with our shareholders throughout this process.”
D9 has an investment management agreement with Triple Point Investment Management which supports the management of its portfolio of investments.
D9 intends to issue a notice of termination which will see the agreement brought to an end on 31st March 2025.