TE Connectivity reports that it will sell its subsea communications business (SubCom) to equity firm Cerberus Capital Management for $325 million in cash.

A press release said that SubCom has completed more than 100 cable systems and deployed over 610,000 km of cable through its eight cable ships. The deal, which includes the plant, 63 employees, and all the related process, development and sales elements, is expected to close by the first quarter of 2019.

TE Connectivity, which has an annual revenue of $13 billion from connectivity business, reports that it will use proceeds from the sale to fund share repurchases. “It strengthens our business model; resulting in a stronger growth profile, reduced cyclicality, higher margins and a greater return on investment,” said TE Connectivity CEO Terrence Curtin.

In other news, SubCom reports that it has won a contract from MainOne, a global connectivity and data center solutions provider, to extend its submarine cable system into West Africa’s francophone region. Its additional branches connecting Senegal (Dakar) and Cote D’Ivoire (Abidjan) will connect to MainOne’s 7,000-km cable system, which extends from Portugal to Nigeria, and will inject new technology that upgrades the system to a potential capacity of 10TBps by November 2019 when the subsea system becomes operational. 

Germany’s SKET Verseilmaschinenbau GmbH reports that it has installed and commissioned two lines that have been approved by the customer, Hengtong Submarine Power Cable Co., Ltd. (Hengtong)

A press release said that SKET supplied a vertical stranding line and an armoring line, where were signed off by Manager Qian Zhikang and Production Manager Pan Wenlin for production of high-voltage offshore power cable (220kV, 3x500 mm², XLPE insulated) that could be as long as 27 km.

The project was able to be completed in less than two years because of the mutual efforts and cooperation between the Hengtong and SKET staff, the release said. SKET provided its unique technology for the units that included the bearing concept turntable, taping units, bitumen units, for its intended use in producing extra-long power cables. SKET also supplied a rigid strander for making 500-sq-mm copper conductors for use in extraordinary lengths

The release said that the order from Hengtong represents SKET’s first project from a Chinese cable manufacturer. "This project can be seen as a milestone of SKET’s activities in Asia."

The HV offshore power cable is a key markets for cable manufacturers in China. For Hengtong, this will be its first time producing such a long offshore power cable without any joints, which makes this order "a big success for all parties in this project."

Citing a high cost basis and pricing pressure, Bekaert announced that it will close Bekaert Costa Rica SA plant in Orotina, Costa Rica, which manufactures Dramix^® steel fiber, which will continue to be offered from other Bekaert plants.

A press release said that Costa Rica Bekaert currently employs 147 people in two legal entities in Orotina: Bekaert Costa Rica SA (64 people) and BIA Alambres Costa Rica SA (83 people). The Bekaert Costa Rica SA entity manufactures Dramix steel fibers for concrete reinforcement while BIA Alambres Costa Rica SA produces steel wire products for agricultural fencing and construction markets. Both entities belong to the same partnership in which the Bekaert Ideal Holding—an 80/20 partnership between Bekaert and its Ecuadorian partners, represented by members of the Kohn family—holds 73% of the shares and ArcelorMittal the remaining 27%.

Management has informed the employees about the decision, and plans to offer a transfer for 20 part-time employees to its sister plant.

The plant was opened in 2014.

India’s Sterlite Tech announced that it plans to add 15 million km to its optical-fiber cabling capacity, raising its total potential production to 33 million fiber km.

A press release said that the expansion for the integrated optical fiber and cable manufacturer will cost about $44 million). The project, to be completed in stages, is expected to come on-line by June 2020. It said that drivers for the initiative include strong market demand for "deep fiberization" for 5G, FTTx and data center connectivity.

"Given exponential data growth, telcos, internet companies and governments around the globe are looking for innovative network solutions for hyper-scale connectivity," said CEO Dr. Anand Agarwal. "Our customers see us as unique design-build-manage partners who are forward integrated from fiber and cable to network design and software solutions. This capacity investment will further deepen our customer engagement as we partner with them for network buildouts."

The company is expanding its solutions portfolio very rapidly. Recently, it announced a 100% acquisition of Metallurgica Bresciana in Italy for cable expansion, while earlier it had announced an expansion of its optical fiber capacity via a Greenfield investment. Sterlite Tech is also actively working on software-defined networks in virtualized environments.