A consortium of Macquarie Capital, abrdn and Arjun Infrastructure Partners today announced the acquisition of a Fibre to the Home ("FTTH") network from DIGI Spain Telecom S.L.U. ("DIGI"). The network will be operated by Onivia, Spain's largest independent wholesale fibre platform, which will increase its coverage to around 10 million Spanish homes, more than a third of homes in the country.
The network acquired currently comprises approximately 4,250,000 homes passed with the rest of the network, covering up to 1,750,000 homes passed, to be deployed over an estimated period of three years. This would see the network reach a total of 6 million homes passed, covering 12 provinces across the regions of Madrid, Segovia, Avila, Castilla-La Mancha, Comunidad Valenciana and Murcia. The transaction also provides the consortium with the option to acquire any future fibre rollouts from DIGI in those provinces, subject to certain conditions.
DIGI, Spain's fourth largest internet service provider ("ISP"), will continue to use the FTTH network to serve its own customers and remain as anchor client, with the network made available to all other Onivia customers. Onivia's position as a large-scale independent wholesale FTTH operator, with nationwide coverage, increases competition in the market as it continues to deliver, from a neutral position, reliable, secure and fast broadband for large, growing and regional ISPs across Spain.
Jose Antonio Vázquez Blanco, Chief Executive Officer of Onivia, said: "With this acquisition, Onivia confirms its position as largest neutral and independent player, enhancing the value-added proposal for our telco customers, increasing coverage, and offering latest XGS-PON technology. It is also a fantastic step towards our national end-to-end telco proposal for other market segments such as utilities and alarms."
Oliver Bradley, Senior Managing Director at Macquarie Capital said: "We established Onivia in 2019 as Spain's first independent wholesale fibre network operator. Alongside our long-term co-investors, Macquarie Capital are committed to supporting the continued growth and expansion of this truly national Spanish network, delivering reliable ultrafast broadband to both rural and urban areas and for ISPs large and small."
Marius Varzaru, CEO of DIGI, said: "We are delighted to develop our expansion in Spain hand in hand with the Consortium formed by Macquarie Capital, abrdn and Arjun Infrastructure Partners, world leaders in infrastructure investment."
This transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including relevant Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) clearances in Spain and EC merger control.
About abrdn
abrdn is a global investment company that helps clients and customers plan, save and invest for the future. Our purpose is to enable our clients to be better investors. abrdn manages and administers £495bn of assets for clients (as at 31 December 2023).
Our strategy is to deliver client-led growth. We are structured around three businesses - Investments, Adviser and Personal - focused on their changing needs. The capabilities in our Investments business are built on the strength of our insight - generated from wide-ranging research, worldwide investment expertise and local market knowledge. Our teams collaborate across regions, asset classes and specialisms, connecting diverse perspectives and working with clients to identify investment opportunities that suit their needs.
As at 31 December 2023, our Investments business manages £367bn on behalf of clients - including insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, independent wealth managers, pension funds, platforms, banks and family offices. ASEIP IV, abrdn Concession Infrastrucure's fourth Pan-European infrastructure fund (the "Fund"), was raised in March 2021 for an initial €450m.
About Arjun Infrastructure Partners
Arjun Infrastructure Partners is an independent European infrastructure fund manager with €5.7bn AUM. Founded in 2015, Arjun provides direct access to European mid-market core/core plus infrastructure through funds as well as separate managed accounts. Arjun has an experienced, sector-specialist team of 39 with extensive operational knowledge combined with institutional financial pedigree.
About Onivia
Onivia is a neutral and independent telecom operator that wholesales bitstream services in the main Spanish cities and their metropolitan areas, and in a large number of smaller municipalities in rural areas all over the country. Onivia facilitates the growth of telecommunications operators through a solid and competitive FTTH infrastructure provided by a team of upstanding and expert people who adapt to the customer and their needs.
