Smith Square Partners and Wagram have acted as joint financial advisors to an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital on its entering into a binding agreement for the sale of Xtera Topco Limited (“Xtera”) to a joint venture between Prysmian S.p.A. (80%) and Fincantieri S.p.A. (20%).

Headquartered in London, UK, Xtera is a leading provider of subsea telecom networks. The company operates in a market which is experiencing rapid growth, driven by global demand for bandwidth, the need for enhanced global connectivity and redundancy, and the rapid development of data centre traffic. Xtera’s focus on innovation and its track record of project delivery to its clients, including the U.S. Department of Defense and blue-chip telecom operators, position it as a trusted provider of turnkey systems. Xtera has recently delivered multiple turnkey projects, including the NO-UK submarine cable system, which achieved record-breaking capacity, and the TAM-1 system, which is expected to complete in 2026 and will span more than 7,000 km, linking Florida with Central America and the Caribbean.

The acquisition of Xtera will complement Prysmian’s leadership in submarine telecom production, its in-house acoustic and temperature monitoring solutions, and its world leading fleet of cable installation vessels and know-how. The partnership with Fincantieri will build on the already established relationship in cable installation vessels and will expand to new security-focused underwater services including guard vessels and drones.

Smith Square Partners and Wagram are the UK and French members of the Advior International network of M&A advisers. Advior International brings together thirteen independent, partner-led corporate finance advisory firms across Europe, North America, and India, representing a network of more than 250 experienced corporate finance professionals. The group has an outstanding track record of advising corporates, private equity investors, and other owners of private businesses across a broad range of sectors. Smith Square Partners and Wagram worked together seamlessly on this transaction, providing best-in-class transaction execution capabilities and deep sector expertise.

The sale of Xtera remains subject to regulatory approvals, and completion of the transaction is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2026.