Ardian to acquire Míla, Iceland’s largest telecoms infrastructure company

25 October 2021 Infrastructure Iceland, Reykjavik

Síminn and Ardian reach an agreement for the acquisition of a 100% in Míla, the largest telecommunications infrastructure service provider in Iceland
Alongside Ardian, Icelandic pension funds will have the opportunity to invest in Mila

Ardian will support Míla on its path to becoming a fully independent wholesaler provider offering best-in-class network access with a focus on accelerating 5G deployment and further fibre roll-out in rural areas

Míla complements Ardian Infrastructure’s global portfolio of diversified and essential infrastructure investments in telecommunications, energy and transportation

Reykjavik, Frankfurt, Paris, 25th October 2021 – Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, announces the acquisition of a 100% stake in Míla ehf. (“Míla”), the largest integrated telecommunications network in Iceland, from Síminn Group (“Síminn”), Iceland’s leading telecommunications operator. Míla represents Ardian Infrastructure’s sixth investment in the Nordic region, its first in Iceland, and its fourth investment in the telecommunications sector, and complements Ardian’s global portfolio in terms of geographic and sector diversification.

Míla is Iceland’s largest telecommunications infrastructure company and owns a comprehensive network comprised of fixed broadband, mobile access and backhaul covering the entire country. This transaction is of unique significance in the telecommunications sector, given the current national owner is selling the entire collection of digital infrastructure, including both active and passive equipment. Ardian will support Míla’s efforts to enhance the country’s connectivity through substantial investments that will enable the roll out of additional fibre and 5G technology.

Gonzague Boutry, Managing Director in the Ardian Infrastructure team, commented: “We are very proud to have secured this unique investment, which is a perfect example of Ardian’s vision and leadership in telecommunications infrastructure. We believe that this acquisition, which comprises an entire integrated network, including passive and active equipment, will pave the way for similar transactions within the telecommunications industry.”

Síminn will remain Míla’s long-term anchor tenant to ensure its clients continue to receive best-in-class services. Post separation, Míla will become the leading platform for wholesale services in Iceland.

Orri Hauksson, CEO of Síminn said: “We are delighted to have signed this transaction with Ardian as a buyer of Mila, but more importantly, as a long-term infrastructure partner. Síminn will continue to be a strategic customer, and Míla will now become fully independent with an opportunity to flourish on its own.”

“To be recognised by a world-leading private investment house is evidence of the strength of our business,” said Jón Ríkharð Kristjánsson, CEO of Mila. “At the same time this is an exciting turning point for Míla.  With Ardian Infrastructure‘s support, Mila as an independent infrastructure provider with holistic service offerings can help to enhance the competitiveness of Iceland‘s telecommunications market. Ardian‘s financial support, experience and knowledge will enable us to develop our network even further and fulfill our mission to connect Iceland to the future.

“Alongside Ardian, several Icelandic pension funds will have the opportunity to invest in Míla.” Dr. Daniel von der Schulenburg, Managing Director and Head of Ardian Infrastructure for Germany, Benelux and Northern Europe , said: “We are excited to expand into Iceland accompanied by our local partners. The Nordic countries are a core region for the Ardian Infrastructure team, with strong fundamentals and attractive investment opportunities. For us, Míla is a long-term investment and a platform for growth. We intend to invest continuously into Iceland’s coverage and look forward to continuing to deliver top quality service and connectivity solutions. We will work together with Mila‘s management team to build an even more progressive electronic communications company.”

This transaction is yet to receive clearance from local competition authorities. Ardian does not own any competing or overlapping businesses with Míla in Iceland or in the Nordic countries.

 

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$114bn managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base. Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world. Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 800 employees working from fifteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), the Americas (New York, San Francisco and Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul). It manages funds on behalf of around 1,200 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.

 

ABOUT MÍLA

Míla is the largest telecom infrastructure company in Iceland providing comprehensive end-to-end services in all areas of digital infrastructure. Mila’s network is comprised of fixed copper and fiber access, backbone and connectivity, as well as active equipment across a nationwide footprint. Míla was established in 2007 as the sole infrastructure entity of the publicly-listed telecommunications incumbent Síminn. Míla nowadays provides critical telecommunication services such as access to its fiber, mobile and backhaul network as an open access wholesaler to both Síminn and third party operators.

Press contact

ARDIAN

Headland VIKTOR TSVETANOV

VTsvetanov@headlandconsultancy.co.uk +44 207 3435 7469

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Ardian acquires Adamo, representing its first investment in the telecommunications sector in Spain

Ardian

11 OCTOBER 2021 INFRASTRUCTURE SPAIN, MADRID

Ardian Infrastructure reaches an agreement with EQT to buy 100% of the fibre optic operator Adamo, with more than 1.8 million homes covered by its network.
Ardian reinforces its interest in Spain as a strategic market and will support Adamo’s management team to boost the growth of its project, focused on rural areas with low internet penetration.

Madrid, 11 October 2021- Ardian, a world leading private investment house, has agreed to acquire its first investment in the telecommunications sector in Spain. Ardian will acquire from EQT 100% of Adamo, one of the fastest growing fibre optic operators and platforms in this market, focused on rural areas and supported by an open access wholesale business model.
Ardian will work alongside Adamo’s management team, who will reinvest in Adamo, to continue to drive its ambitious growth plan.
Adamo has an existing footprint of c.1.8m homes covered, serving c.250k subscribers over 27 provinces across Spain. Together with Ardian’s support, Adamo will continue to drive the development of its project with the organic expansion of its network and analyzing opportunities for the acquisition of new networks. Adamo aims to reach 3.2m homes and expands its backbone network to more than 11,000 kms in the coming years. Its strategy is to deploy its network in rural areas where there is virtually no high-speed internet access, contributing with its services to bridge the digital gap.
Adamo has its own coverage in more than fourteen autonomous communities in Spain and also provides connectivity services through its FTTH network to four of the main operators in the country and to more than 160 local operators.
Juan Angoitia, co-head of Ardian Infrastructure in Europe, said: “We are very pleased to be able to announce our first investment in the telecommunications sector in Spain. The Spanish market remains very attractive for us. Our focus will now be on working together with the Adamo team to create value for the company and all its stakeholders, while at the same time helping to address the serious problems that rural areas in Spain face and boosting their economic and social development.”
Martin Czermin, CEO of Adamo, has highlighted the fit that Ardian has with the company’s project: “We are proud to incorporate a partner like Ardian that brings a great experience in the sector, a deep knowledge of the market and a great sensitivity towards our contribution to society. Their support comes at a key moment to be able to continue driving Adamo’s growth both organically and inorganically.”
Ardian Infrastructure strategy with this operation will be to provide the most efficient telecommunications service throughout the national territory, and in particular in rural areas that currently do not have high-speed Internet, thus providing these areas with an element for their development.
The telecommunications sector is a priority in the strategy of Ardian Infrastructure which, through the funds it manages, has a 30.2% controlling stake in INWIT, Italy’s leading tower operator, and a 26% stake in EWE, one of Germany’s largest utilities and a leading provider of telecommunications services.
The closing of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary regulatory and other approvals.

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$114bn managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base.
Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world.
Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 800 employees working from fifteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), the Americas (New York, San Francisco and Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul). It manages funds on behalf of more than 1,200 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.

ABOUT ADAMO

Adamo is the fastest growing and #1 open access rural FTTH platform in Spain with a unique nationwide footprint covering 1.8 million homes and providing fixed broadband and mobile services to approximately 250,000 retail and wholesale subscribers. Adamo has a highly dedicated customer focus and provides high-quality and high-capacity services at competitive prices. The Company currently employs over 300 people and is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain.

PRESS CONTACTS

ARDIAN

HEADLAND VIKTOR TSVETANOV

VTsvetanov@headlandconsultancy.co.uk+44 207 3435 7469

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EQT Infrastructure and Stonepeak to acquire DELTA Fiber

eqt
  • EQT Infrastructure and Stonepeak to acquire DELTA Fiber, a leading owner and operator of fiber-to-the-home telecom infrastructure in the Netherlands
  • EQT Infrastructure and Stonepeak are committed to investing significantly into the continued digitization of the Dutch society by accelerating nationwide fiber-to-the-home connectivity to B2C and B2B customers in suburban and rural areas of the country
  • DELTA Fiber will benefit from EQT and Stonepeak’s combined expertise in digital infrastructure and a strong industrial board. Together, the parties are committed to support DELTA Fiber and its management’s ambition to connect two million Dutch households to fiber by 2025

EQT and Stonepeak are pleased to announce that EQT Infrastructure V (“EQT Infrastructure”) and Stonepeak have agreed to acquire DELTA Fiber (the “Company”) from EQT Infrastructure III. Following the closing of the transaction, each party will hold a 50 percent stake in the Company and co-control DELTA Fiber through a strong industrial board.

Headquartered in Schiedam, the Netherlands, DELTA Fiber provides high-speed broadband, TV and fixed and mobile telephony to Dutch households and businesses connected to its superior fiber-to-the-home (“FTTH”) network. DELTA Fiber owns and operates approximately 50,000 km fiber-based network infrastructure that connects approximately 900,000 households and businesses across the Netherlands. The Company employs approximately 600 people and was established as DELTA Fiber in 2018, following a combination of DELTA and CAIW, which were acquired by EQT Infrastructure III in February 2017 and January 2018, respectively.

With 20,000 new connections per month, DELTA Fiber today is one of the largest and fastest growing fiber companies in the Netherlands and is on its way to reaching one million connections by the end of 2021. DELTA Fiber benefits from a rapid growth in data consumption and an increased demand for fast and stable internet. The Company’s new network rollout will be based on the latest fiber technology (XGS-PON) that enables speeds up to 10 Gbps. This is the prelude to its 25G-PON technology that enables speeds up to 25 Gbps.

DELTA Fiber will benefit from EQT’s and Stonepeak’s significant combined expertise in the digital infrastructure sector and vast track record in fiber rollout across the Netherlands and Europe. Both parties are committed to investing significantly in the continued digitalization of the Dutch society by accelerating nationwide B2C and B2B FTTH connectivity in suburban and rural areas. Moreover, the Company’s fiber broadband is more sustainable and energy efficient than the legacy networks, with approximately 40-60 percent lower energy consumption.

Together, EQT Infrastructure and Stonepeak will support DELTA Fiber and its management team in its ambition to reach a footprint of two million fiber connections by 2025, thereby covering a quarter of the country. The Company will also be supported by a strong advisory board with seasoned industry experts who possess broad expertise within digital infrastructure and FTTH rollout.

Matthias Fackler, Partner within EQT Infrastructure’s Advisory Team, said, “We are deeply impressed by DELTA Fiber’s management and employees’ strong performance over the past few years. EQT Infrastructure is excited to support their continued journey of digitizing the Netherlands by providing high quality broadband infrastructure to Dutch households and businesses. EQT Infrastructure shares this vision with Stonepeak whose vast experience in the digital infrastructure space makes them an ideal partner to support DELTA Fiber in its next phase of evolution and growth.”

Brian McMullen, Senior Managing Director at Stonepeak, said, “Stonepeak has long recognized the mission critical nature of broadband in today’s society and we look forward to working with Marco and the team to accelerate the additional rollout of DELTA Fiber’s network across the Netherlands. We are delighted to partner with a like-minded peer in EQT Infrastructure on this transaction, which will accelerate DELTA Fiber’s ability to connect households throughout the country with reliable broadband.”

Cyrus Gentry, Managing Director at Stonepeak, added, “DELTA Fiber, with its unique asset base and industry-leading management team, represents a compelling investment opportunity that will complement Stonepeak’s existing global portfolio of residential broadband-focused platforms.”

Marco Visser, CEO of DELTA Fiber, said, “Two leading international investors joining DELTA Fiber confirms our success in recent years. That EQT is choosing to invest in our company again, together with Stonepeak, shows confidence in our ambitious plans for the future. Together they provide us with a solid foundation for further growth.”

The transaction is subject to customary conditions and approvals. It is expected to close in December 2021. With the acquisition of a stake in DELTA Fiber, EQT Infrastructure V is expected to be 60-65 percent invested (including closed and/or signed investments, announced public offers, if applicable, and less any expected syndication).

Contacts
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334
Stonepeak, Kate Beers, beers@stonepeakpartners.com +1 646-540-522

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with more than EUR 71 billion in assets under management across 27 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas with total sales of approximately EUR 29 billion and more than 175,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtgroup.com
Follow EQT on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram

About Stonepeak
Stonepeak is a leading alternative investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real assets with over $39 billion of assets under management. Through its investment in defensive, hard-asset businesses globally, Stonepeak aims to create value for its investors and portfolio companies, and to have a positive impact on the communities in which it operates. Stonepeak sponsors investment vehicles focused on private equity and credit. The firm provides capital, operational support, and committed partnership to sustainably grow investments in its target sectors, which include communications and digital infrastructure, transport and logistics, water, energy transition, and power and renewable energy.

About DELTA Fiber
DELTA Fiber is one of the fastest growing fiber companies in the Netherlands. About 900,000 addresses throughout the Netherlands are already connected to the DELTA Fiber network, with around 20,000 new connections being added every month. DELTA Fiber’s ambition is to provide as many households and companies as possible with access to fast internet. And to grow to two million connections by 2025.

More info: www.deltafibernederland.nl/en

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Healthcare innovator SDB Group unveils three new software acquisitions

Main Capital Partners

The Hague, 16 September 2021 – Healthcare innovator SDB Group acquires three Dutch software companies with the support of software investor Main Capital Partners. With the acquisitions of CPM4Care and Infent, which were signed in July and September, SDB Group takes a leading position as a provider of Business Intelligence (BI) solutions for the healthcare industry. In addition, with the acquisition of KindPlanner, SDB Group positions itself strategically in the childcare market. The expansion of SDB Group is in line with its ambition to become the market leader in software solutions for the Dutch healthcare and welfare sector. COO Vincent van Staalduinen: ‘We want to unburden the healthcare professional with innovative software, which is best-of-breed and best-of-suite.’ 

SDB Group offers a total package of cloud-based solutions for the healthcare sector, including software for HR, planning, payroll, electronic client records (ECD), e-learning and business intelligence (BI). SDB Group, which is 45 years old, strongly believes in the importance of data science to improve the healthcare sector. To this end, Reports, a provider of data analytics software, was acquired in 2019. Woerden-based CPM4Care strengthens SDB Group’s BI arsenal with various tools to improve the business performance of healthcare institutions, such as a healthcare dashboard and a budget planning tool. The Nieuwegein-based company Infent is specialised in BI-solutions for disabled care, elderly care and revalidation care, and is strong in forecasting, KPI tooling and master-data management.

Market leader in Business Intelligence for healthcare

‘By combining the strengths of these companies, we not only take a leading position in BI, but we also build on our big data and data science strategy’, explains Vincent van Staalduinen, COO of SDB Group. Jeroen van Ree, co-founder of Infent, shares this vision. ‘Together with SDB Group and CPM4Care we can develop more innovative BI-solutions for healthcare. With this, we are taking a meaningful step towards data-driven healthcare delivery.’ Marcel Brockhoff, Director of CPM4Care, emphasizes the added value for healthcare institutions. ‘The combination of CPM4Care, SDB Group and Infent allows us to help healthcare institutions even better in fulfilling the requirements in terms of reporting and make valuable healthcare data accessible.’

SDB Group positions itself in the childcare market

With the acquisition of KindPlanner, SDB Group strengthens its position within the welfare market. With the arrival of KindPlanner, SDB Group is the only player in the market that can offer a complete, integrated and user-friendly software solution to childcare companies. KindPlanner CEO Vincent van Nimwegen: ‘SDB Group had everything KindPlanner didn’t, and vice versa: they have software for payroll and business intelligence, we offer child planning and invoicing software and a portal to communicate with parents, which over 100 childcare companies are already using.’

Unburdening care professionals

SDB Group has set itself the goal of innovating the conservative healthcare sector and making it more efficient. ‘This requires deep knowledge about healthcare, which we have. With the support of Main Capital we also have the capital to grow’, says COO Vincent van Staalduinen. SDB Group aspires a best-of-breed and best-of-suite approach: the best specialized software solutions, which are seamlessly integrated. No fragmentation of services or switching between separate programs, but a time-saving total solution. The ultimate goal? ‘Care professionals are relieved of their administrative burden with innovative software, and the time saved is spent where it is needed most: on the client’, says Van Staalduinen.  

About SDB Group

SDB Group develops and supplies specialist ICT solutions for the healthcare sector. In 2018, software investor Main Capital acquired a majority stake in the company, which was then known as SDB Ayton. Since then, SDB Group has made four acquisitions, aimed at obtaining the widest possible range of software services. The first acquisition was Cormel (ECD software), followed by Reports (data analytics for the healthcare sector), The Competence Group and CSS Breda (e-learning for the healthcare sector). In 2021, KindPlanner, CPM4Care and Infent were added. Turnover tripled as a result of this buy-and-build strategy. The number of employees grew from 70 in 2018 to 220 after the latest acquisition.

About Main Capital Partners

Main Capital Partners is a leading software investor in the Benelux, Dach and the Nordics. Main has almost 20 years of experience in strengthening software companies and works closely together with management teams of its portfolio companies as a strategic partner, in order to realize sustainable growth and build excellent software groups. Main counts over 40 employees and has offices in The Hague, Stockholm and Düsseldorf. In September 2021 Main has over 1 billion euros under management and invested in more than 120 software companies. These companies create jobs for approximately 5,000 employees.

________________________________________

For more information, please contact:  

Sonja Hartgring (Manager Marketing & Communications)
+31 (0) 6 24 22 71 06
sonja@main.nl

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Apax Funds and Warburg Pincus to acquire T-Mobile Netherlands

Funds advised by Apax Partners LLP (“Apax”), a leading private equity firm, and Warburg Pincus LLC (“Warburg Pincus”), a leading global growth investor, have today agreed to acquire T-Mobile Netherlands Holding B.V. (“T-Mobile” or the “Company”) from Deutsche Telekom AG and Tele2 AB. The transaction values the company at an Enterprise Value of €5.1bn.

T-Mobile, which operates four brands – T-Mobile, Tele2, Ben, and Simpel – is a leading European telecommunications operator. Under the current management team, the Company has become the leading mobile network operator in the Netherlands and the first to offer unlimited and nationwide 5G, as well as becoming the fastest growing operator in fixed broadband market serving around 700,000 broadband customers at the end of Q2 2021.

Both Apax and Warburg Pincus have long-standing experience and strong track-records in the Communications Services and broader Telecommunication, Media, and Technology (“TMT”) sector, having invested in companies globally, including in Salt (Apax), Wind Telecom (Apax), TDC (Apax), Ziggo (Warburg Pincus), Inexio (Warburg Pincus) and Community Fibre (Warburg Pincus). The two firms have also worked closely together since 2019 when their respective funds jointly invested in Inmarsat, a mobility-focused satellite operator focused on maritime, aviation and government end-markets.

Under the new ownership, T-Mobile will become an independent Dutch Company and Apax and Warburg Pincus will look to partner with the management team to support the Company as it continues to focus on innovation and growing its already impressive customer base.

Søren Abildgaard, CEO T-Mobile Netherlands, said: “Today is a big day for us. We are excited about the path ahead and to work together with Apax and Warburg Pincus over the coming years. We are looking forward to continuing our strategy in the Dutch market, offering superior value to our customers. As such, we remain steadfast in our promise to deliver the best possible customer experience, powered by the best mobile network in the world. We have come a long way and re-positioned T-Mobile as a winning player by driving innovation and change within the market, being the first mobile operator to offer unlimited and nationwide 5G. I am proud of what we as a team have achieved in the past and believe we are today better positioned than ever for the next chapter.”

René Obermann, co-head of Europe and MD of Warburg Pincus Deutschland, said: ‘’Hats off to the talented people at T-Mobile/Tele2/Ben and Simpel for what they have accomplished! Ultra-fast wireless internet, the most highly regarded customer support and innovative services – at affordable rates. Yet the wireless revolution has only just begun. Over the next decade everyone will be able to remotely participate from anywhere in the world, enjoying an unprecedented virtual experience, and it will be possible for everything to be connected; becoming smarter, more efficient and safer. We will support the company to lead this development and invest even more into people and their skills, next generation networks and digital services, so that customers will ask: ‘’Waarom kunnen andere telecom bedrijven niet zo goed zijn als T-Mobile?’’ (“Why can other telecom companies not be as good as T Mobile?’’)

Gabriele Cipparrone, Partner at Apax, said: “T-Mobile fits perfectly with the Apax Funds strategy of investing in innovative companies with solid fundamentals and strong growth prospects. Thanks to the excellent work of its talented management team and employees, T-Mobile enjoys strong brand recognition and has become the leading mobile operator in the Netherlands, with a growing presence in fixed broadband, leveraging future-proof fibre to the home technology. We look forward to supporting the Company to further accelerate growth and become a leading convergent player, by enhancing its network leadership, growing its fibre to the home customer base and delivering a best-in-class customer service.”

The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, including consultation with employee representatives, and regulatory approvals.

Credit Suisse and Liontree acted as financial advisors, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett acted as legal advisors to Apax and Warburg Pincus.

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DIF Capital Partners signs agreement with Canada Infrastructure Bank for further investments in rural Manitoba in partnership with Valley Fiber

DIF

DIF Capital Partners (“DIF”), is pleased to announce that DIF Core Infrastructure Fund II (“DIF CIF II”) and its portfolio company Valley Fiber Ltd. (“Valley Fiber”) have formalized the agreement to invest in the Manitoba Fiber Project together with the Canada Infrastructure Bank (“CIB”). This agreement will significantly grow DIF CIF II’s investment in Manitoban rural communities and Valley Fiber.

Valley Fiber is a telecommunications infrastructure company and internet services provider that specializes in the development, construction, and operations of fiber and fixed wireless infrastructure for residential and commercial use. Valley Fiber was incorporated in 2016 and has successfully built a presence in Manitoba, constructing high-quality telecommunications infrastructure to service historically underserved rural Manitoban communities. Based in Winkler, Manitoba, Valley Fiber operates in more than 20 municipalities.

In April 2020, DIF CIF II completed a majority investment into Valley Fiber. Since this investment, Valley Fiber has expanded and enhanced its product offering and further grown its geographical footprint. The agreement with CIB will enable a broadband infrastructure project that supports the economic growth for the benefit of Canadians. Furthermore, this project will expand Valley Fiber’s reach by targeting to connect 48,500 households with dedicated fiber-to-the-home in Manitoban rural municipalities over the coming years.

Willem Jansonius, Head of DIF CIF, said: “The collaboration with Valley Fiber and CIB have proven to be very successful and this investment represents our next step into the fast-growing telecom infrastructure sector.”

In addition, DIF CIF II has extended its capital commitment to Valley Fiber to fund future organic growth and add-on opportunities in the near term. Valley Fiber and DIF are committed to the partnership of bringing broadband to underserved communities in Canada.

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is a leading global independent fund manager, with more than €9.0 billion in assets under management across nine closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF Capital Partners invests in greenfield and operational infrastructure assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Australasia through two complementary strategies:

  • Traditional DIF funds, of which DIF Infrastructure Fund VI is the latest vintage, target equity investments with long-term contracted or regulated income streams including public-private partnerships, concessions, utilities, and (renewable) energy projects.
  • DIF CIF funds target equity investments in small to mid-sized economic infrastructure assets in the telecom, energy, and transportation sectors.

DIF Capital Partners has a team of over 160 professionals, based in nine offices located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Paris, Santiago, Sydney, and Toronto. For further information please visit www.dif.eu

Contact:

Allard Ruijs, Partner

Email: a.ruijs@dif.eu

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Aircall, now valued above $1bn, raises $120M in Series D funding, led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management

DTCP

Funding will advance Aircall’s market leadership in Cloud Communications industry

NEW YORK, NY, June 23rd, 2021

  • Launched in 2014 in France, Aircall is a cloud-based phone system and call center software that integrates seamlessly with popular CRM and helpdesk tools, such as Salesforce, Hubspot, etc.
  • Including its Series D, Aircall has now raised more than $226 million.
  • This new financing will allow Aircall to fulfill its mission of trailblazing a new era for cloud communications.

Aircall, a cloud-based voice platform helping companies across the globe manage millions of customer support and sales calls every day, today announced it has raised $120 million in a series D funding round, bringing the company’s total valuation to more than $1 billion. The funding round was led by the Growth Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and joined by most of Aircall’s current investors (DTCP, eFounders, Draper Esprit, Adam Street Partners, NextWorldCap, Gaia), showing their renewed trust in the company’s vision.

Aircall was founded in 2014 with the belief that traditional business phone systems were hard to manage, siloed, and required heavy implementation costs and time. In an increasingly virtual world, businesses were lacking an easy-to-use solution that could integrate with other critical business applications, and support the communications needs of a dispersed and flexible workforce.

Over the past year, remote workforces accelerated digital transformation for companies of all sizes and, at the same time, their customers increased their expectations around personalized and convenient service. Aircall helps businesses meet those objectives by integrating its cloud-based solution into leading business softwares like Salesforce, Hubspot, Zendesk, Slack, Intercom and many others. This allows businesses to streamline workflows, providing more efficiency for their teams with better visibility, data and insights into their customers’ needs and their teams’ performances. Ultimately, the solution allows personalized experiences for their customers. Aircall was built to empower any professional to have richer conversations, and to allow the phone channel to be accessible, transparent, and collaborative.

Christian Resch, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, said: “The past 12 months have been a catalyst for Aircall’s cloud based SaaS communication solution. In a hybrid work environment, users are looking to Aircall to provide an easy to use experience that is highly integrated into their workflows, thereby making the most out of every customer interaction. We are very excited to partner with Aircall, as the company looks to accelerate its growth and expand globally.”

Kirk Lepke, Executive Director at Goldman Sachs, added: “We have been following Aircall’s journey for some time and are delighted to be partnering with Olivier and the Aircall team to lead the Series D. The company has tremendous momentum within a huge category and a differentiated product strategy that will sustain significant growth for many years to come.”

Despite the challenges this past year has brought, Aircall achieved record-breaking growth across its business. The company saw more than 65 percent total customer growth year over year, and now has more than 8,500 customers worldwide. Aircall’s development relies strongly on internationalization, with more than a third of revenue generated in the United States. With offices in New York, Paris, Sydney and Madrid, Aircall recently passed the 450 employee mark and plans to recruit more than 260 new employees by the end of the year.

With this new funding round, Aircall will invest in the following:

  • Enrich its app ecosystem, specifically with new integrations covering all use cases, from e-commerce to financial services, Sales, Support, etc.
  • Expand globally, with new European offices in London and Berlin, and deeper investments in North America and APAC. Aircall plans to recruit more customer-facing teams to come closer to the customer needs, and to form strong partnerships, including with channels and resellers.
  • Partner with major telecommunications companies to bring its technology to every professional around the world, by leveraging local networks expertise.
  • Improve technology with new AI capabilities, additional productivity features for call centers: transcription & speech analytics for greater depth of productivity features for sales and support. Aircall will also enhance infrastructure capacities by providing additional points of presence to support local usage, while continuing to deliver additional capacity at scale, and provide a global standard of high quality for voice.

“Since the beginning of Aircall, we’ve helped thousands of companies to enrich their customer experience through voice channels, with more empathy than ever in the past year. We also witnessed an increasing demand for visibility and data about teams and performances.“ said Olivier Pailhes, co-founder and CEO of Aircall. “Now that hybrid, on-site or remote teams are likely here to stay, we’ll continue to work to achieve our vision, and empower every professional to have richer conversations. With that in mind, the investment by Goldman Sachs, and the renewed trust of our current investors validates this vision.”

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About Aircall

Aircall is the phone system for modern business. An entirely cloud-based voice platform that integrates seamlessly with popular productivity and helpdesk tools. Aircall was built to make phone support as easy to manage – accessible, transparent, and collaborative.

Aircall believes that voice is the most powerful way to communicate with customers, prospects, candidates, and colleagues. It is designed to enable delightful moments of human connection. Aircall was founded in 2014 and has raised over $226 million in funding. With offices in New York, Paris, Sydney, and Madrid, the company currently has over 450+ employees.

https://aircall.io/

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Valokuitunen secures strong lender financing for roll-out of fibre networks in Finland

Capman

CapMan Infra press release
25 May 2021 at 12.00 noon EEST

Valokuitunen secures strong lender financing for roll-out of fibre networks in Finland

Valokuitunen Oy, a joint venture between CapMan Infra and Telia, has secured 5-year loan facilities with Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) and Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) for financing the roll-out of new fibre-to-the-home network connections in Finland.

The financing will continue to support Valokuitunen’s investments into new digital infrastructure and services, and expand the coverage of high-speed fixed line connections in residential neighbourhoods in Finnish growth centres and surrounding areas. Valokuitunen’s fibre network roll-out plan is estimated to enable high-speed internet access to more than 70,000 new customers by 2025.

Valokuitunen’s investment plan contributes to Finland’s national digital infrastructure strategy of providing a minimum of 100 Mbps internet connections to all households by 2025.

“Given the immense increase in the amount of data being transferred, the need for people and business to have access to fast and reliable network connections is clear. The establishment of new network infrastructure has crucial importance and a key role in guaranteeing that our member countries stay at the forefront of digitalisation“, says André Küüsvek, President and CEO of NIB.

“Valokuitunen is proud to partner with strong lenders in SEB and NIB, to continue its extensive roll-out plans in Finland. The last twelve months have illustrated the importance of high-speed and reliable connections, which allow people to work and study remotely. We look forward to continue improving the fibre infrastructure in Finland,” says Juha-Pekka Weckström, chairperson of the board.

 

For further information, please contact:

Sauli Antila, Investment Director at CapMan Infra, 040 658 9708, sauli.antila@capman.com

CapMan is a leading Nordic private assets fund manager, headquartered in Finland and listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. CapMan is invested in Valokuitunen through its CapMan Nordic Infrastructure I fund. CapMan Infra invests in sustainable energy, transportation and telecommunications infrastructure across the Nordics.

Telia Company AB is a Swedish multinational telecommunications company and mobile network operator present in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Telia Company is headquartered in Sweden and is listed in Nasdaq Stockholm and Helsinki.

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

SEB is a leading northern European financial services group offering financial advice and a wide range of financial services. In Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany and the United Kingdom, the bank’s operations have a strong focus on corporate and investment banking based on a full-service offering to corporate and institutional clients. The international nature of SEB’s business is reflected in its presence in some 20 countries worldwide.

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Verizon Media to be Acquired by Apollo Funds

Transaction Expected to Accelerate Growth of the Internet and Digital Media Leader

Verizon to Maintain Minority Stake in the New Company to be Known as Yahoo

NEW YORK, May 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE: APO) (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “Apollo”) today announced that funds managed by affiliates of Apollo (the “Apollo Funds”) entered into an agreement to acquire Verizon Media for $5 billion. Verizon will retain a 10% stake in the company, which will be known as Yahoo at close of the transaction and continue to be led by CEO Guru Gowrappan.

One of the world’s premier global technology and media companies, Verizon Media is comprised of iconic brands such as Yahoo and AOL, as well as leading ad tech and media platform businesses. The corporate carveout will allow Verizon Media to aggressively pursue growth areas and stands to benefit its employees, advertisers, publishing partners and nearly 900 million monthly active users worldwide.

“We are excited to be joining forces with Apollo,” said Guru Gowrappan, CEO, Verizon Media. “The past two quarters of double-digit growth have demonstrated our ability to transform our media ecosystem. With Apollo’s sector expertise and strategic insight, Yahoo will be well positioned to capitalize on market opportunities, media and transaction experience and continue to grow our full stack digital advertising platform. This transition will help to accelerate our growth for the long- term success of the company.”

“We are thrilled to help unlock the tremendous potential of Yahoo and its unparalleled collection of brands,” said Reed Rayman, Private Equity Partner at Apollo. “We have enormous respect and admiration for the great work and progress that the entire organization has made over the last several years, and we look forward to working with Guru, his talented team, and our partners at Verizon to accelerate Yahoo’s growth in its next chapter.”

“We are big believers in the growth prospects of Yahoo and the macro tailwinds driving growth in digital media, advertising technology and consumer internet platforms,” said David Sambur, Senior Partner and Co-Head of Private Equity at Apollo. “Apollo has a long track record of investing in technology and media companies and we look forward to drawing on that experience to help Yahoo continue to thrive.”

“Verizon Media has done an incredible job turning the business around over the past two and a half years and the growth potential is enormous,” said Hans Vestberg, CEO, Verizon. “The next iteration requires full investment and the right resources. During the strategic review process, Apollo delivered the strongest vision and strategy for the next phase of Verizon Media. I have full confidence that Yahoo will take off in its new home.”

Verizon Media reported strong, diversified year-over-year revenue growth the past two quarters, driven by innovative ad offerings, consumer ecommerce, subscriptions, betting and strategic partnerships. Yahoo, one of the best recognized digital media brands in the world and the fourth most visited internet property globally, continues to evolve as a key destination for finance and news among Gen Z. This was most recently marked by Yahoo News becoming the fastest growing news organization on TikTok.

Under the terms of the agreement, Verizon will receive $4.25 billion in cash, preferred interests of $750 million and retain a 10% stake in Verizon Media. The transaction includes the assets of Verizon Media, including its brands and businesses. The transaction is subject to satisfaction of certain closing conditions and expected to close in the second half of 2021.

Goldman Sachs served as lead financial advisor to Verizon in the transaction. Evercore also served as financial advisor to Verizon. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP are serving as legal counsel to Verizon.

LionTree served as lead financial advisor to and will invest alongside the Apollo Funds, bringing its global strategic relationships to Yahoo as the company continues to accelerate growth and pursue strategic investments in key verticals and product areas.

RBC Capital Markets also served as financial advisor to the Apollo Funds in connection with the transaction, alongside Barclays, BMO Capital Markets Corp., Deutsche Bank and Mizuho Securities USA LLC; all are also providing financing for the transaction. Mizuho Securities USA LLC also served as lead structuring advisor to the Apollo Funds. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is serving as legal counsel to the Apollo Funds.

About Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is one of the world’s leading providers of technology, communications, information and entertainment products and services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon generated revenues of $128.3 billion in 2020. The company offers data, video and voice services and solutions on its award-winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers’ demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control.

About Apollo

Apollo is a leading global investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Bethesda, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo, among others. Apollo had assets under management of approximately $455 billion as of December 31, 2020 in credit, private equity and real assets funds. For more information about Apollo, please visit www.apollo.com.

About Verizon Media

Verizon Media, a division of Verizon Communications, Inc., houses a trusted media ecosystem of premium brands like Yahoo, TechCrunch and Engadget to help people stay informed and entertained, communicate and transact, while creating new ways for advertisers and media partners to connect. From XR experiences to advertising and content technology, Verizon Media is an incubator of innovation and is revolutionizing the next generation of content creation in a 5G world.

VERIZON’S ONLINE MEDIA CENTER: News releases, stories, media contacts and other resources are available at verizon.com/news. News releases are also available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.

Media contact:
Allison Butler
Corporate Communications
Verizon Media
(202) 669- 9887
allison.butler@verizonmedia.com

Joanna Rose
Global Head of Corporate Communications
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0491
Communications@apollo.com

Kim Ancin
+ 1 908-801-0500
kimberly.ancin@verizon.com

Investor Contact
Peter Mintzberg
Head of Investor Relations
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0528
APOInvestorRelations@apollo.com

 

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Source: Verizon Sourcing LLC

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EQT Infrastructure to sell Segra Commercial Services Business

  • EQT Infrastructure to sell Segra’s Commercial Services Business, a leading fiber-based provider of bandwidth services to commercial enterprise and wholesale carrier customers in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions of the U.S., to Cox Communications
  • EQT Infrastructure to retain Segra’s residential and SMB business, where EQT Infrastructure has strengthened its commitment to support the business’ next phase of growth
  • Segra was created by EQT Infrastructure through the combination of three geographically contiguous businesses into a super-regional fiber infrastructure provider with an enhanced product portfolio and improved service capabilities
  • During EQT Infrastructure’s ownership, Segra experienced substantial growth and margin expansion through its investment in both new and existing markets, strategic add-on acquisitions and other operational initiatives

EQT is pleased to announce that the EQT Infrastructure III fund (“EQT Infrastructure”) has agreed to sell Segra’s Commercial Services Business to Cox Communications (“Cox”). EQT Infrastructure will retain Segra’s residential and SMB business, which operates under the Lumos Networks and NorthState brands.

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Segra employs more than 1,200 people and provides broadband data services across a 26,000-mile fiber network to a variety of customers including wireless carriers, healthcare providers, local government agencies, financial institutions, education institutions, and residential customers. Ongoing digitalization and outsourcing trends are driving demand for broadband services, particularly in rapidly growing US metro markets such as the ones Segra serves. Together with the management team, EQT supported Segra in its organic and inorganic growth strategies and integration success to develop into the leading super regional fiber company it is today.

At the same time, EQT and the management team scaled Segra’s residential and SMB business by building out fiber to existing and new customers as well as through strategic add-on acquisitions.    Following the transaction, EQT plans to significantly accelerate the build-out of fiber-to-the-premise (“FTTP”) throughout the region, bringing high speed fiber bandwidth for the first time to a large number of markets, many of which to date, have been disadvantaged by no or low availability of quality high speed broadband connectivity.

“We are pleased to have found a good long-term home for Segra’s Commercial Services Business with Cox. Segra has transformed into an integrated, leading provider of broadband services to a variety of enterprise and carrier customers, and we are proud of the achievements we have accomplished alongside management. We thank Tim, the management team and employees, and the advisors in the EQT Network for their vision and guidance,” said Jan Vesely, Partner and Investment Advisor at EQT. “Furthermore, we are excited to retain the residential business and to accelerate the buildout of fiber to residential and SMB customers, bringing fiber to many underserved markets.”

Timothy Biltz, CEO of Segra, said, “EQT has been a great partner throughout Segra’s transformational journey, and we thank them for their guidance and support for nearly four years. Going forward, we are excited to work with Cox and look forward to leveraging their resources, capabilities and strategic insights to meet growing customer demand and accelerate long-term growth.”

The transaction is subject to customary conditions and approvals and is expected to close later in 2021.

Bank Street Group LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as financial advisors and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal advisor to Segra.

Contact
US inquiries: Stephanie Greengarten, +1 646 687 6810, stephanie.greengarten@eqtpartners.com
International inquiries: EQT Press Office, +46 8 506 55 334, press@eqtpartners.com

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with more than EUR 67 billion in assets under management across 26 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas with total sales of approximately EUR 29 billion and more than 175,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtgroup.com
Follow EQT on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram

About Segra
Segra is one of the largest independent fiber infrastructure bandwidth companies in the Eastern U.S. It owns and operates an advanced fiber infrastructure network throughout nine Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern states. Segra provides Ethernet, MPLS, dark fiber, advanced data center services, IP and managed services, voice and cloud solutions, all backed by its industry-leading service and reliability. Customers include carriers, enterprises, governments, higher education and healthcare organizations. For more information about Segra’s technology and commitment to customer care, visit www.segra.com.


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