Its partner is InfraVia Capital: they will “assess opportunities available in building out FTTH greenfield networks
In the first phase Liberty Global Ventures, the investment arm of Liberty Global, and its partner Infravia Capital will target a small number of under-served German municipalities, with InfraVia Capital Partners to evaluate wider investment in Germany based on its success.
InfraVia Capital Partners is an independent private equity firm that specialises in infrastructure and technology investments.
50:50 joint venture
The joint venture, which is 50:50, is subject to regulatory approval. Assuning that is forthcoming, the JV will take a modular approach, and if the first phase is successful measured against defined criteria, then the two will look for further opportunities.
Robert Dunn, Managing Director, Connectivity Investments, Liberty Global, comments: “Liberty Networks Germany offers an exciting opportunity to leverage our expertise in deploying critical broadband infrastructure in a market we know very well.
“We’re also excited by the attractive returns offered by greenfield fibre network deployment in a country where millions of homes don’t yet have access to fast
and reliable broadband. We look forward to working in partnership with InfraVia as we take a controlled approach to the opportunity as we move forward.”
Liberty Global operated Unitymedia for a decade in Germany, which included working closely with municipalities and regional authorities as Unitymedia expanded its network in the country, which reached 13 million homes passed and 7.2 million customers by the time of its sale to Vodafone in 2019.
Germany was cited as one of the fastest countries making the fastest progress in building out fibre infrastructure by the FTTH Council Europe’s latest research published last week, but at only 8.1% penetration in 2021 (expected to rise to 59.9% in 2026), there is a huge potential market.