SFR FttH, the fibre-to-the-home joint venture formed in 2019 between Altice, OMERS, Allianz Capital Partners on behalf of Allianz insurance companies and AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets, acting on behalf of its clients, has entered into an exclusivity agreement regarding the acquisition of 100% of Covage for a total cash consideration of €1.0 billion. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in H1 2020.
Covage is the 4th largest fibre wholesale operator in France, with 2.4 million homes to be passed (including 0.8 million homes already built), which will be added to SFR FttH’s footprint of more than 5.4 million secured homes to be passed (including 1.7 million homes built). Covage will become part of SFR FttH, resulting in a total of around 8 million secured homes to be passed (including 2.5 million homes already built). With this acquisition, SFR FttH continues to execute on its strategy to meaningfully expand its footprint, with more households yet to be awarded as well as selective opportunities for additional consolidation.
Philippe Busslinger, Head of Europe for OMERS Infrastructure said: “Today’s news reaffirms the commitment of our partnership to accelerate the roll-out of optical fibre networks in France. We are delighted with our investment in SFR FttH to date and its potential as a growth platform. OMERS Infrastructure is looking forward to supporting further investments in fibre, and more broadly in the telecom infrastructure space alongside experienced operators.”
Ralph Berg, OMERS Global Head of Infrastructure, said: “Our support for this transaction underlines OMERS Infrastructure’s desire to increase our portfolio’s exposure to high-quality telecom infrastructure assets. It also speaks directly to our view of France as one of the most attractive jurisdictions for financial infrastructure investors like ourselves that want to support the build-up of fibre networks. We are also keen to continue to develop partnerships with reputable and experienced strategic operators such as Altice.”
