Ex-Digicel executive to run Magnet Networks after State-backed takeover

Former senior Digicel executive John Delves will take over as managing director of telecommunications company Magnet Networks following its takeover by a company owned by the State-backed Irish Infrastructure Fund (IIF).

Magnet has been bought by IIF's Speed Fibre Group, which will add it to its other telecoms units, such as eNet and AirSpeed Telecom. Magnet provides broadband to about 32 different housing developments, while it also controls about 40 unbundled Eir exchanges and provides corporate telecoms services to major IT clients in Ireland and abroad. The group is heavily loss-making, however, with accumulated losses of €126 million on its balance sheet.

Mr Delves joins Magnet from taxi app iCabbi, where he was chief commercial officer. Prior to that he worked for a decade for Denis O’Brien’s Caribbean telco Digicel, in a variety of regional and group senior executive roles.

He is a brother of the late Colm Delves, a former group chief executive of Digicel who died in April.