BW Digital Completes Acquisition of Hawaiki Cable

BW Digital Pte. Ltd. (BW Digital), an affiliate of BW Group Limited, announced today the formal completion of its acquisition of 100 percent of the shares of Hawaiki Submarine Cable Limited Partnership and International Connectivity Services Limited. The transaction was subject to applicable regulatory filings and approvals, which have now all been received, including transfer of control granted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the United States.

In August 2018, the FCC granted Submarine Cable Landing License for the Hawaiki Cable System to five licensees including Hawaiki Submarine Cable USA LLC (HSC USA), Tillamook Lightwave IGA, ACS Cable Systems, LLC, DRFortress, LLC, and American Samoa Telecommunications Authority). Ready for service in July 2018, the 15,000 km Hawaiki Cable System, linking Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa, Hawaii and the west coast of the US, has become a critical infrastructure asset in the region.

HSC USA is an immediate and 100% owned subsidiary of New Zealand-based Hawaiki Submarine Cable Limited Partnership (HSC LP) which owns and controls100% of the Hawaiki Cable System's main trunk, and together with its affiliates owns 100% of the capacity on the main trunk, excluding the spur to American Samoa. HSC USA owns a cable landing station in Hawaii. Tillamook Lightwave, ACS are DRFortress are Hawaiki's contractors as landing partners, operation and maintenance service providers. 

In July 2021, BW Group Limited, through its affiliate company BW Digital Pte. Ltd., acquired 100% shares of HSC LP and Hawaiki Submarine Cable General Partner Limited (HSC GP).  HSC USA filed the FCC in the end of August 2021, applying for consent the transfer of control of HSC USA from its former indirect controller HCL Limited Partnership (HCL LP) to BW Digital. The FCC granted approval in early May, 2022.

Upon completion, HSC USA remains a direct wholly owned subsidiary of HSC LP, HSC LP and HSC GP are direct wholly owned subsidiaries of BW Digital, and HSC GP remains the general partner of HSC LP. 

“Our team is looking forward to realizing this new chapter of the company’s history,” said Rémi Galasso, chief executive officer of BW Digital, and founder of Hawaiki. “Capitalizing on Hawaiki’s existing assets, our strategy is to build an independent, carrier-neutral, digital infrastructure platform, that will respond to ever-growing market requirements for international connectivity and sustainable data storage.”

BW Digital’s roadmap features a series of complementary developments focused on the Asia-Pacific region, including Hawaiki Nui, the first submarine cable to directly interconnect Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand and the US, as well as Datagrid, Australasia’s first carbon-neutral hyperscale datacentre – located in Invercargill on New Zealand’s South Island – powered by 100 percent green energy.

BW Digital has also partnered with Chile’s state-owned entity Desarrollo País for the development of the Humboldt cable system which will connect Sydney to Valparaiso (Chile’s second largest city after Santiago), linking the South American market across a Great Southern Route.