On Friday, Swedish private equity fund EQT announced that its fifth infrastructure fund (Infrastructure V) will enter a joint venture with Proximus, Belgium’s largest telecom operator, which is 53 percent owned by the Belgian state. The JV will design, build and maintain a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network in Flanders. EQT Infrastructure will initially own 50.1 percent of the venture, while Proximus will hold 49.9 percent.
According to a joint announcement, EQT Infrastructure and Proximus have identified large opportunities in accelerating the build-out pace of the FTTH network in the Flemish region of Belgium.
“As the leading investor in digital infrastructure, EQT sees the growing need for future-proof and reliable broadband access all over the European continent,” Matthias Fackler, Partner at EQT Partners, said: Through this partnership, we look forward to facilitating digital inclusion and sustainable economic growth in Flanders and the Belgian society as a whole.”
Why Fiber
FTTH is the fastest and most reliable broadband solution available and is instrumental in managing the increasingly growing internet bandwidth demands of the future. EQT and Proximus are committed to invest significantly into the JV over the coming years with the ambition to bring the required fiber connectivity to Flanders so that its residents and businesses can actively participate in the emerging Gigabit Society.
The JV will benefit from the combination of EQT Infrastructure’s vast experience from developing strong fiber companies in Europe and North America, and Proximus’ expertise in the Belgian telecom market and long-standing relationships with municipalities and housing associations.
Together, the parties will create an efficient rollout machine to build a fiber network, which will be open and accessible to all operators. The JV intends to connect its first customers during 2021 and the overall goal is to bring fiber connectivity to at least 1.5 million households and businesses over the coming years. The JV will be supported by a strong board of directors with hands-on experience from fiber deployment in Belgium and other European markets.
Guillaume Boutin, CEO of Proximus, said the deal with EQT Infrastructure would enable the telecom to reinforce its leading position in multi-gigabit infrastructures, in an era where reliable, next-generation fixed and mobile connectivity has become more important than ever.
“It also illustrates our positive attitude towards cooperation and co-investment, which will be an important trigger to guarantee a faster, broader and more cost-efficient roll-out,” Boutin said.
Eurofiber
The venture with EQT marks a second fiber partnership in Belgium for Proximus in recent months. Late last month, Proximus finalized an agreement with Eurofiber, the digital infrastructure firm with a significant presence in Benelux, France, and Germany, to form a joint venture for FTTH buildout in the Belgian region of Wallonia together. The JV aims to connect 500,000 homes and business to fiber in Wallonia
And Eurofiber itself has been busy on the deal front. Last week, the company announced that it has signed a binding agreement to acquire Lumos, a French fiberoptic network company based in Nantes, but with presence in Paris as well. Eurofiber’s previous French acquisitions include Eurafibre, ATE and Eura DC in November 2019, part of an accelerated French growth strategy for Eurofiber that aims to expand the company’s network footprint to at least 25 cities in France by 2025.
Also this year, Eurofiber announced a joint venture with Vattenfall to build and operate an open-access fiber-optic network in Berlin, which aims connect 500,000+ households and thousands of businesses in the German capital .
Recently, the company welcomed Dutch pension fund PGGM as a shareholder, in addition to France-based Antin Infrastructure Partners, which holds the majority of Eurofiber shares.
