Venturing & Investments
All the latest insight, news and analysis on venturing and investment activity surrounding leading telecom and infra players.
Towerco TAWAL said to eye Mobily mast buy in prep for IPO
Saudi wireless infra player reportedly looking to snap up Mobily tower assets, the latest in a string of acquisitions to expand its portfolio and international presence. Move comes as Mobily stakeholder e& reportedly reviewing exits from other assets to refocus on ‘core’ telecoms business…
MásOrange denies Vodafone Spain RANco project amidst reports of further talks
MásOrange says there is “currently no active project” to form a RANco with Vodafone Spain, despite reports of fresh talks emerging. Pair said to be targeting synergies and seeking to monetise more infra assets, but questions remain around potential impact on rumoured Telefónica takeover of Vodafone Spain assets…
Wayra backs MITO AI as it pursues value-focused vision
Telefónica’s venturing division backs generative AI content platform provider as a startup “capable of generating value” for the Group, in line with new strategic focus.
Spanish upstart Digi goes public, nets €150m for expansion
Low-price disruptor Digi Spain bolsters its challenge to rivals Telefónica, MásOrange, and Vodafone Spain with an over-subscribed stock market float.
UK gov plots £330m boost to subsea cable protections
UK government’s long-awaited Defence Investment Plan includes fresh funding to improve subsea infrastructure resilience, including new public-private partnerships and upgraded defence fleets.
DTCP makes maiden Defence Fund investment
Deutsche Telekom-affiliated investor backs drone software developer Six Robotics. Move is the first that DTCP has made via recently created Defence Fund, as it seeks to tap into growing European military spending.
Spanish government green lights Telefónica-led Gigafactory bid
Spanish government gives the go-ahead for public-private venture that will lead European AI Gigafactory project. Private shareholders include Telefónica, ACS, and Santander.
SoftBank picks France for €75bn mega-bet on European data centres
Japanese investment group unveils multi-billion euro programme to build out French data centre portfolio, amidst aggressive AI infra expansion in Europe and beyond. Investment among wave of digital infra projects that have emerged in and around recent Choose France Summit…
From danger zone to digital powerhouse: Kearney maps Europe’s path to telecom recovery
Analysis: Europe’s telecoms sector has built extensively but failed to monetise, risking stagnation without urgent structural intervention. Kearney’s comprehensive diagnostic guides on how regionalisation, network resilience, strategic private finance partnerships, and other remedies can revitalise the sector’s finances and the continent’s digital economy.
Vodacom’s IoT bet ‘still in startup’ seven years in
Group CEO Shameel Joosub says IoT.nxt is yet to break even, but producing confidence-inspiring results and (modestly) contributing to Vodacom’s ‘beyond mobile’ expansion.
UK’s Digital 9 enters ‘next phase’ of prolonged wind-down
Troubled investment group continues efforts to eke out value from its remaining digital infra assets, advancing its long-running wind-down process. However, future of broadcast infra player Arqiva remains a significant source of uncertainty, and D9 concedes it may not complete its sell-off plans for another three years…
Blackstone targets ready-made data centres with new investment platform
Private equity group moves to launch IPO for new digital infra investment platform, seeking newly constructed data centres while avoiding prospective (and unproven) projects. Move comes as Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman seeks to build on one of the investor’s “best years yet” in infra…
Spain’s Sateliot launches €100m fundraise to ‘accelerate’ satellite rollout
Sateliot kicks off Series-C round, seeking fresh funding to accelerate satellite deployment programme and enable the launch of ‘sovereign’ commercial NB-IoT services later this year…