EQT, Omers buy Deutsche Glasfaser from KKR

The enterprise value of the deal is reportedly €2.5-3bn.

The company will be combined with Inexio, a market peer of Deutsche Glasfaser and portfolio company of EQT Infrastructure IV, in which EQT owns a 90% stake. EQT will own a 51% stake in the merged entity and Omers will own 49%.

Deutsche Glasfaser plans to pursue further deployment of fibre internet connectivity in rural areas in Germany through the partnership, according to a statement.

EQT invested via EQT Infrastructure IV, which will be 70-75% deployed following the closing of the deal, according to a statement.

KKR acquired a stake in Deutsche Glasfaser in 2015 via KKR Global Infrastructure Investors II. The GP said in a statement that it had assisted the company with securing financing via its internal capital markets team.

The sale process was initiated in October 2019, according to Mergermarket, with Morgan Stanley as sell-side adviser. The process drew interest from bidders including Allianz Capital Partners and Dutch pension fund PGGM.

Unquote sister publication Inframation reported in January 2020 that Deutsche Glasfaser had secured debt to finance the continued roll-out of its fibre networks. The company secured €1.8bn in debt, comprising €1.4bn from 16 senior lenders including KfW IPEX, ING and ABN Amro for projects in Wendeburg, Frankenthal, Leipzig and Viersen. The lenders will provide €400m in follow-on funding for further network expansion if needed.

The company also raised a seven-year €225m loan and €425m capex facility in January 2018, according to Inframation.

Deutsche Glasfaser provides fibre internet connections to more than 600,000 houses and 5,000 businesses in Germany. It was established by Netherlands-based investor Reggeborgh in 2011.

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• Topics
• Infrastructure
• DACH
• Germany
• EQT
• KKR