Exa Infrastructure has announced a deal to buy Bulgarian telco Global Communication Net AD (GCN).

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed by Exa Infrastructure, but the company did state it expects the deal to conclude the during the fourth quarter of this year.

GCN owns a national fiber-optic network spanning more than 2,500km. The company provides dark fiber, wavelength, and colocation services.

Exa noted that the deal expands its strategic presence in southeastern Europe, allowing it to provide access to international interconnection points in Turkey, Greece, Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Georgia.

"The GCN network consists of over 2,500km of owned duct and cable connecting Sofia with all the borders neighboring Bulgaria as well as the Black Sea coast cities of Balchik, Varna, and Burgas. Each of these locations is strategically important for existing and planned subsea cables, creating a natural east-west corridor," said Steve Roberts, SVP of network investments and products at Exa Infrastructure.

The company said it also gains 100km of metro network connecting key data centers and business zones within Sofia, the country's capital.

Following the deal, Exa now owns 155,000km of fiber network infrastructure across 37 countries.

"This acquisition further extends our network presence in South-Eastern Europe, and continues to differentiate our capabilities in serving customers for their critical infrastructure needs across the breadth of Europe," added Jim Fagan, CEO, Exa Infrastructure.

"We have near-term plans to expand our network both organically and through acquisition to bring more value, options, and services to our customers in an ever-changing digital world."

As part of the acquisition, Dimiter Angelov, current CEO and ex-majority shareholder of GCN, said he will leave the company as GCN prepares for its acquisition by Exa Infrastructure.

On its website, GCN says it operates 28 colocation centers across Bulgaria.