CapMan Infra and Telia Company to accelerate roll-out of fibre networks in Finland
CapMan Infra press release
31 October 2019 at 09.00 a.m. EET
CapMan Infra and Telia Company to accelerate roll-out of fibre networks in Finland
CapMan Infra has agreed on a majority investment in a joint venture to be established with Telia Company to invest into and deploy fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) infrastructure in Finland. The joint venture will acquire Telia Finland’s existing Avoin Kuitu fibre assets and will be one of the largest FTTH network owners and operators in Finland.
One of the key goals in the Finnish Government Programme 2019 is promoting the construction of more extensive optical fibre networks throughout Finland to enable better digital infrastructure and fast broadband access across the country. Achieving this goal requires substantial investments and a reliable operator specialising in the fibre market. CapMan Infra and Telia are rising to the challenge by establishing a joint venture to accelerate the roll-out of fibre infrastructure. The joint venture will take over Telia Finland’s Avoin Kuitu existing FTTH business and increase the pace of investments to make fibre available across Finland. The business currently builds and operates fibre assets primarily in Finnish growth centres and surrounding areas, serving around 12 municipalities.
“Reliable and fast network connections are a core foundation for modern society. They improve quality of life by enabling living and working across the country. The efficient implementation of large investment projects is at the core of our team’s expertise, and the new ownership model with Telia allows us to make long-term commitments to roll-out fibre networks across Finland. We are delighted to work with a market-leading operator to establish a stand-alone open access fibre provider,” comments Harri Halonen, Partner at CapMan Infra.
Global trends and consumption patterns are increasingly driving the need for fast and reliable data connections. Video-on-demand, online gaming and the increasing number of connected devices require fast and reliable network connections, which 4G or even 5G networks are unable to guarantee in the long-term, given the exponential increase in the amount of data being transferred.
“I’m really happy that we have come to this agreement with CapMan Infra which fits very well with Telia Company’s strategy of having superior network connectivity while adding to our commercial success through convergence and great customer experience. The network roll-out will play an important role for Finland to maintain its position at the very forefront of digitalization. This new type of structure with a partnership ties well with our ambition of disciplined allocation where we, case by case and market by market, seek a good balance between the risk and reward and potential future technology shifts as well as short versus long-term thinking,” says Stein-Erik Vellan, Senior Vice President, Head of Telia Finland.
The transaction is expected to close in the beginning of 2020 with completion conditional on customary approvals from competition authorities.
CapMan Infra’s investment focus is core and core+ infrastructure assets in the energy, transportation and telecom sectors in the Nordics. CapMan Infra held the first close on its midcap Nordic infrastructure fund in October 2018, and the fund invested in the Norwegian ferry operator Norled earlier this year. The CapMan Infra team comprises 7 investment professionals and operates from Helsinki and Stockholm with a total of 70 years of sector experience. The team has also completed investments on a mandate basis in Nordic infrastructure opportunities.
For further information, please contact:
Harri Halonen, Partner, CapMan Infra, tel. +46 768 71 0062
About CapMan
CapMan is a leading Nordic private asset expert with an active approach to value creation. We offer a wide selection of investment products and services. As one of the Nordic private equity pioneers, we have developed hundreds of companies and real estate assets and created substantial value in these businesses and assets over the past 30 years. With over €3 billion in assets under management, our objective is to provide attractive returns and innovative solutions to investors. We have a broad presence in the unlisted market through our local and specialised teams. Our investment strategies cover Private Equity, Real Estate and Infra. We also have a growing service business that includes procurement services, fundraising advisory, and analysis, reporting and wealth management services. Altogether, CapMan employs 140 people in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, London, Moscow and Luxembourg. www.capman.com