Infrastructure fund Antin Infrastructure Partners has agreed to buy Dutch B2B fibre owner Eurofiber from investment firms Doughty Hanson and Reggeborgh for €875m.
Doughty Hanson, which acquired a majority stake in the group in 2012 from…
Infrastructure fund Antin Infrastructure Partners has agreed to buy Dutch B2B fibre owner Eurofiber from investment firms Doughty Hanson and Reggeborgh for €875m.
Doughty Hanson, which acquired a majority stake in the group in 2012 from Reggeborgh, said the sale had yielded a 2.5x return for investors.
Jefferies and Skadden Arps advised Doughty Hanson.
The firm said that under its ownership, Eurofiber had become the Netherlands’ largest independent operator, having carried out two add-on acquisitions in 2013.
Eurofiber will continue to act as an independent organisation, with its current management staying in place. Under its new ownership, the company will aim to grow both in and outside the Netherlands.
The transaction is expected to close at either the end of May or beginning of June 2015.
Eurofiber CEO Alex Goldblum said his company was “very enthusiastic”, since Antin had “fully endorsed our business model of open telecommunication networks and, with its long-term horizon and investment appetite, gives our customers, employees and other important stakeholders certainty over future operations.”
Antin partner Stephane Ifker, who led the transaction, said: “We have long identified optical fibre networks as a highly attractive asset class. It exhibits very robust infrastructure characteristics as it provides an essential service in hosting increasing data flows and meeting soaring business connectivity requirements. Eurofiber is a well-established player in a high-growth market which benefits from a unique nationwide network with high capillarity.”
Alain Rauscher, managing partner and CEO of Antin Infrastructure Partners, commented: “We have seen first-hand that the company has a highly talented management team with a track record of successful add-on acquisitions and integrations. We look forward to working with the management in the same vein, having identified the opportunity to further expand the network footprint both organically and through M&A.”
Reggeborgh group executive Henry Holterman said it was logical that a strategic partner had taken over Eurofiber, which had become a national player.
“We have enjoyed working with Alex Goldblum and his excellent team at Eurofiber to deliver significant value for all our stakeholders and we wish them well in the future”, says Pascal Keutgens, senior principal at Doughty Hanson.
