KKR and DTCP Roll Out Fiber Infrastructure in the Netherlands
April 07 2021 - 1:00AM
Business Wire
Open access platform to deploy FttH broadband
to a minimum 1 million homes by 2025, across urban and higher
population density areas
T-Mobile Netherlands to become the first major
tenant
KKR, a leading global investment firm, and DTCP, an investment
management platform focusing on digital infrastructure and growth
equity, today announced the launch of Open Dutch Fiber and a
strategic agreement between Open Dutch Fiber and T-Mobile
Netherlands.
Open Dutch Fiber, an independent platform majority owned by KKR
and with DTCP as minority shareholder, will deploy
Fiber-to-the-Home (“FttH”) broadband in the Netherlands across
urban and higher population density areas, delivering high-quality
fiber connections to Dutch households and businesses.
The platform has an open architecture and will make wholesale
fiber services available to all operators. Open Dutch Fiber will
begin operations in Q2 2021 with a fully-funded commitment for an
envisaged capital expenditure of approximately €700 million and
construction agreements already in place.
Open Dutch Fiber will be led by Jordi Nieuwenhuis and Uwe Nickl.
Jordi and Uwe have a proven track record of delivering rapid,
high-quality and cost-effective programmes to deploy fiber
broadband. Most recently they were co-CEOs of Deutsche Glasfaser in
Germany, supporting the rollout of next-generation digital
infrastructure to more than 1 million homes and 6,000 businesses.
Prior to his role at Deutsche Glasfaser, Jordi co-founded
Reggefiber in the Netherlands. They will be joined at Open Dutch
Fiber by Michael Griffioen as CEO, who will oversee the company’s
day-to-day operations.
To support the rollout, Open Dutch Fiber has signed an agreement
with T-Mobile Netherlands, the leading mobile operator and FMC
challenger in the Netherlands. T-Mobile Netherlands, which
currently has a mobile base of 6.8 million customers and a fixed
base of 682,000, will be the anchor tenant for Open Dutch Fiber
with a 20-year agreement.
Jordi Nieuwenhuis, co-founder of Open Dutch Fiber, said:
"High-quality and reliable fiber connectivity is essential for the
Netherlands and this has only been accelerated with the structural
changes to working patterns of companies and citizens brought about
by the COVID-19 crisis. We are building a digital infrastructure
platform with open access to all operators, to ensure an efficient
and rapid deployment of capital resources, while avoiding
uneconomical overbuild. We look forward to making a significant
contribution to the digitization of the Netherlands to benefit
Dutch households and businesses.”
Cristina González, Managing Director in KKR’s EMEA
Infrastructure team, said: “We are excited about the opportunity
ahead for Open Dutch Fiber as an independent FttH platform in the
Netherlands, and one which will support the rollout of critical
infrastructure for Dutch society. KKR will support Open Dutch Fiber
with capital and deep expertise in delivering large-scale fiber
deployment programmes.”
“The creation of Open Dutch Fiber is an important milestone in
the acceleration of fiber rollout in the Netherlands and a
blueprint for innovative financing solutions in European digital
infrastructure. We are firm believers in the sharing of digital
infrastructure and are establishing Open Dutch Fiber as an open
access model, enabling attractive economics for operators and best
prices for consumers. We look forward to the collaboration with our
partners”, said Vicente Vento, Co-Founder and CEO of DTCP.
KKR will be making the investment through its Global
Infrastructure Investors Funds. KKR first established its Global
Infrastructure strategy in 2008 and has since been one of the most
active infrastructure investors around the world with a team of
more than 50 dedicated investment professionals. The firm currently
manages over $27 billion in infrastructure assets and has made over
40 infrastructure investments across a range of sub-sectors and
geographies. Open Dutch Fiber will benefit from KKR’s expertise in
digital infrastructure and fiber deployment, following similar
recent investments in Deutsche Glasfaser in Germany, Hyperoptic in
the UK and FiberCop in Italy.
DTCP Infra invests in European digital infrastructure across
three verticals: towers, fiber, and data centers. The DTCP Infra
team has an established track record creating innovative solutions
for digital infrastructure development in collaboration with its
financial and industrial partners. The firm’s investments in Swiss
Towers and in Community Fiber provide relevant experiences for the
benefit of ODF.
Morgan Stanley acted as exclusive financial advisor and De Brauw
Blackstone Westbroek as legal advisor to Deutsche Telekom/T-Mobile.
Clifford Chance acted as legal advisor to KKR and DTCP.
-ends-
About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative
asset management and capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR
aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a
patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class
people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and
communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private
equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that
manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement,
life and reinsurance products under the management of The Global
Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may
include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance
subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc.
(NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on
Twitter @KKR_Co.
About DTCP
DTCP is an investment management platform focused on digital
infrastructure and growth equity. Founded in 2015, the firm has
raised more than $1 billion in funds from corporate and
institutional investors and invested in over 60 companies. DTCP
Infra invests in digital infrastructure across mobile towers,
fiber, and data centres. DTCP Growth invests in leading enterprise
application and infrastructure software companies. DTCP has a
dedicated team supporting its portfolio companies and its
industrial partners. DTCP is headquartered in Hamburg with offices
in Menlo Park, Tel Aviv, and Seoul. To learn more about DTCP,
please visit dtcp.capital, or on Twitter @dtcp_capital
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