KKR to buy stake in FTTH provider Deutsche Glasfaser

Investment firm KKR says it has reached an agreement with Dutch counterpart Reggeborgh to acquire a majority stake in the latter's Deutsche Glasfaser, which constructs and operates fiber to the home (FTTH) networks in Germany. The agreement includes a joint investment of €450 million ($488.4 million) to fund additional fiber-optic network infrastructure in Germany "over the next few years," in the words of a press release.

The companies did not reveal how much of a stake KKR will take in Deutsche Glasfaser or how much it plans to pay. The investment will be funded by KKR's Infrastructure Fund II and is subject to customary closing conditions, including antitrust clearance. KKR has several investments in Germany; since 1999, it says it has deployed more than $4.7 billion of equity in 15 German companies. That includes backing Versatel, which owns the second largest fiber-optic network in Germany after Deutsche Telekom. KKR sold its interest in Versatel to United Internet last year for $769.5 million.

Founded in 2012, Deutsche Glasfaser focuses on providing FTTH services to residences and business in rural and suburban areas of Germany. It has connected about 100,000 German households and companies to its fiber cable network, KKR and Reggeborgh assert.

"Deutsche Glasfaser is a blueprint for the type of investments our infrastructure fund is targeting in Europe: building a partnership with a best-in-class company, and investing significant amounts of capital to grow a business with strong infrastructure characteristics," said Jesús Olmos, member and head of European infrastructure at KKR. "We are very excited about this new addition to our European portfolio as it opens up opportunities in a new and promising sector – telecom infra – alongside our existing investments in renewables, water, district heating, parking, and rolling stock."

For more information on FTTx equipment and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer's Guide.