Eurofiber welcomes PGGM as new shareholder as Antin renews its commitment as majority shareholder

Paris, London, New York

• Under Antin’s ownership, Eurofiber has already added more than 19,000 kilometres of fiber network and eight datacenters, having invested close to €400 million from 2014-2019 and completed a number of add-on acquisitions

Antin Infrastructure Partners, PGGM and Eurofiber announced today that PGGM will become a shareholder of Eurofiber. Antin at the same time also renewed its commitment in Eurofiber as majority shareholder, and in partnership with PGGM will support the next phase of Eurofiber’s growth.

Antin acquired Eurofiber in May 2015. The largest independent provider of full fiber digital infrastructure dedicated to B2B customers in the Netherlands and Belgium with a growing presence in France and recent market entry into Germany, Eurofiber owns and operates an open access fibre network allowing any service provider to use Eurofiber’s infrastructure to provide connectivity services to its end customers.

Under Antin ownership, Eurofiber executed a series of value creation initiatives that positioned the company for continued rapid growth. Close to €400 million in capital expenditure was invested, more than 19,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables and eight datacenters were added to its network. Recently, the firm entered the Fiber-to-the-Home segment through a partnership with Vattenfall in Berlin and the signing of an MOU with Proximus in Belgium. Today, Eurofiber is one of the leading B2B digital infrastructure companies in Europe with a network spanning over 37,000 kilometres and connecting more than 28,000 business customers.

Antin’s renewed commitment as majority shareholder will allow the firm to remain alongside management, working together to extend Eurofiber’s track record of growth. Eurofiber will continue to pursue its strategy of further expanding within Europe including broadening its portfolio through additional Fiber-to-the-Home projects with a wholesale and open access approach.

Alex Goldblum, CEO of Eurofiber, commented: “We are delighted to welcome PGGM as shareholder and to continue our excellent relationship with Antin. Demand for digital infrastructure is growing robustly and with Antin and PGGM as partners we can continue our rapid deployment, in turn further enabling the European digital society.”

Robert Hartog, Head of Communication Infrastructure Investments at PGGM, said: “With this acquisition the PGGM Infrastructure Fund has added a new and promising asset to our already well diversified portfolio of infrastructure investments. The digitization of work and daily life clearly provides interesting opportunities for long-term pension capital and we are excited to work with Antin and Eurofiber to grow the company and enable it to continue its leading position in the market.’’

Stephane Ifker, Senior Partner with Antin Infrastructure Partners, said: “Antin is very pleased to welcome PGGM as its partner in Eurofiber. Together we will continue supporting Eurofiber as it prepares for its next phase of growth. Antin is convinced Eurofiber is well positioned to both continue its organic growth in the Netherlands, Belgium and France as well as expand via M&A and strategic partnerships across the fragmented European fiber market. The recent entry into the German market in partnership with Vattenfall is a perfect illustration of that strategy.”

Antin was advised by UBS and Société Générale as financial advisers, Kirkland & Ellis as legal counsel and Loyens & Loeff as tax and legal counsel.

PGGM was advised by Nomura as financial advisor, Allen & Overy as legal counsel and EY as tax advisor.
The transaction is expected to close at the end of October 2020.

About PGGM
PGGM is a cooperative Dutch pension fund service provider. Institutional clients are offered: asset management, pension fund management, policy advice and management support. On June 30, 2020 PGGM had EUR 246 billion in assets under management and was administrating pensions of 4.4 million participants. Around 750,000 workers in the Dutch healthcare are connected to PGGM&CO, our members organization. Either alone or together with strategic partners, PGGM develops future solutions by linking together pension, care, housing and work.
www.pggm.nl

About Eurofiber
Eurofiber has been a provider of industry-leading open digital infrastructure since 2000. Utilizing our own fiberoptic network and datacenters, we provide smart, open, future-proof infrastructure solutions for both connectivity and cloud to companies, government bodies and non-profit organizations. Customers have complete freedom to choose the services, applications and providers they need, allowing them to tap into the full potential of digital innovation. Eurofiber has a 37,000 km fiberoptic network in Belgium, The Netherlands and France and Germany. This network is expanded by 40 km per week on average. Eurofiber companies Dataplace and Eura DC have eight datacenters in the Netherlands and France. Supplementing that vital infrastructure, we also offer interconnectivity between nearly all carrier-neutral datacenters in Belgium and The Netherlands through the DCspine platform. Eurofiber is laying the foundation under the digital society, which is why the Dutch government has assigned Eurofiber the status of ‘vital infrastructure’

Eurofiber Group consists of: Eurofiber and DCspine (The Netherlands and Belgium), Dataplace (The Netherlands), Eurafibre, ATE and Eura DC (France).

About Antin Infrastructure Partners
Antin Infrastructure Partners is a leading independent private equity firm focused on infrastructure investments. Based in Paris, London and New York, and fully owned by its 14 partners, the firm employs over 100 professionals. Antin targets majority stakes in infrastructure businesses in the energy and environment, telecom, transport and social infrastructure sectors. The firm has raised close to €15 billion across four funds and has made investments in 24 companies.