Cable & Wireless Communications buys Panama's Sonitel for $36m

Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) said on Tuesday it acquired Panama-based Grupo Sonitel through its subsidiary Cable & Wireless Panama.The British telecoms company will pay $36m and an extra $5m to acquire the IT provider, which employs more than 350 people. Chief executive Phil Bentley said the deal would pave the way to expand CWC's business in El Salvador, Peru, Nicaragua and Caribbean markets."Adding more than 350 IT software and telecoms service engineers to our team will considerably boost our capabilities in this field," Bentley said.Grupo Sonitel president Julio Spiegel R. said: "With our customers and team in mind, joining CWC was the best choice to secure the future of Grupo Sonitel."The transaction represents a significant commitment to the Panama market, to our business and government customers, and to our people."CWC shares were down 1.5% to 49.25p on Tuesday at 10:04.JF