Infra Investors, Finance & M&A
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M&Anexfibre’s Datta: ‘corner shop fibre’ is dead, the UK needs an infra megamart
Interview: proposed £2bn acquisition of Netomnia is sparking fierce debate across the UK broadband sector. With industry heavyweights trading blows over duopoly fears and infrastructure overlap, discover why CEO Rajiv Datta believes this consolidation is crucial to challenging Openreach.
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Network & InfraEQT raises infrastructure investment stakes amid soaring demand for power and data centres
Swedish private equity behemoth sets target for new infra fund after reiterating strategy to invest in the data centres and power underpinning the AI boom. Ambition comes with European fibrecos under pressure to deliver returns on investment and seen to have lost prominence to data centres in the global infra growth story.
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M&AEurofiber offloads French data centres amid hunt for scale
European connectivity provider moves to sell French data centre portfolio to ETIX, as it seeks to focus more on open access fibre and integrated digital infra services. ETIX to combine the sites into a “unified campus” in southern France, marking latest step in M&A-fuelled expansion…
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M&AInfra is back: Telefónica re-acquires Spanish microwave assets
Group strikes deal to purchase domestic microwave assets from Asterion Industrial Partners, having only sold them six years ago. Execs indicate acquisition aids strategy to “rigorously strengthen control” of infra and improve network resilience in fast-changing world…
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Network & InfraSoftBank 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…
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Network & InfraUK: CityFibre and BDUK massively renegotiate Project Gigabit subsidies, to reflect market realities
As CityFibre cancels or shrinks its Project Gigabit commitments, halving the covered premises while increasing the per-property subsidy, BT/Openreach emerges as the dominant beneficiary of government subsidies.
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Partnerships & AlliancesOpen Dutch Fiber outsources infra management in strategy shift
Dutch altnet offloads responsibility for passive infra management in north of the country to services group Circet. The deal is the provider’s second outsourcing deal in 2026, as it seeks ways to deliver fibre more efficiently and direct freed resource towards go-to-market…
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Financial & PerformanceThree cheers for London: Community Fibre achieves cash-positivity, returns to rollout, adds mobile multiplay
FY25/Analyst Briefing: upbeat and staunchly local altnet resumes build-out and ups ambitions, now partly self-funding as possibly first UK-fibreco to turn cash-positive following strong FY25. Also debuting highly-competitive mobile bolt-on bolstering fixed-mobile convergence challenge…
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M&AUK’s AllPoints reinforces wholesale shift with Cuckoo divestment
Altnet furthers transition from fibre builder to wholesale aggregator by offloading one of its two consumer ISPs. Deal sees AllPoints sign up another customer to growing aquila platform, as it moves to commercialise its fibre infrastructure…
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Strategy & ChangeArch-disruptor Digi teases UK landfall — is £15 fibre here to stay?
In depth: expansive Romanian telco disruptor teases ultra-low pricing that has shaken up EU markets and now threatens to redraw UK fibre market’s economics and put further pressure on already fragile altnet ARPU… next stop mobile?
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Partnerships & AlliancesProximus, Telenet firm up Belgian fibre-sharing pact
Belgian duo firm up long-awaited fibre collaboration to help accelerate rollout while dodging overbuild. Deal marks milestone in national telcos’ work to strengthen the country’s lagging FTTP coverage relative to European neighbours…
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Financial & PerformanceEuropean fibrecos warned of ‘enormous’ 2027 debt crunch
Europe’s fibre industry is heading into a critical two-year period with half of all fibreco debt due, warns ING’s Jeroen Kleinjan. Rising geopolitical tensions and fears over inflation and competition from other digital infra asset classes could hinder altnets’ ability to overcome a looming ‘refinancing wall’.
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PeoplewatchDigital Infra Peoplewatch: INWIT appoints fresh CTO; GlobalConnect reorg prompts leadership reset
April 2026 edition: Embattled INWIT appoints Michele Gamberini as new technology chief; EMEA telco veteran Rob Shuter joins KKR’s infra investment team; GlobalConnect names execs as part of wider restructuring; more…
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InterviewChelot: wholesale scale is ‘mission impossible’ without nexfibre-Netomnia deal
Interview: “I have a wholesale platform, but I have no wholesale customers”. Jeremy Chelot’s Netomnia hit a structural ceiling, with bowing out the only way to progress the Openreach challenge. Firing back at nexfibre deal critics, he asks for alternatives to his Plan B, deeming consolidation the best route and reflecting on the challenge of leading a business through a sale.
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Strategy & ChangeUK’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…
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PeoplewatchEMEA telco veteran Rob Shuter bolsters KKR’s digital infra squad
KKR has added heavyweight telco leader Rob Shuter to its advisory panel, tapping his ‘rare’ blend of fibre and telecoms expertise as the firm looks to scale its digital infra stable.
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Venturing & InvestmentsBlackstone 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…
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Financial & PerformanceMacquarie takes a hit as it considers KCOM exit
Investment group writes down more than half a billion pounds on Hull-based operator as reports swirl of imminent sale.
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Venturing & InvestmentsSpain’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…
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Financial & PerformanceUK fibre: lenders seize control of Gigaclear following debt restructure, Infracapital wipeout
In depth: rural provider handed over to lenders in sweeping recapitalisation, following £0.5bn+ debt and equity write-down, with cashflow inflection point said to be on the horizon. Investors zeroed out, following abandoned trade sale, with spotlight also on National Wealth Fund sector exposure…