EQT and Stonepeak have announced that the EQT Infrastructure V fund and Stonepeak have agreed to acquire Delta Fiber from EQT Infrastructure III. Each party will then hold a 50 percent stake Delta Fiber, which is based in Schiedam in the Netherlands. They aim to reach 2 million fibre connections by 2025, or approximately one quarter of the country.
The Dutch company owns and operates approximately 50,000 km of fibre-based network infrastructure connecting approximately 900,000 households and businesses nationwide. Delta Fiber employs approximately 600 people and was established in 2018 following a combination of Delta and CAIW, which were acquired by EQT Infrastructure III on February 2017 and January 2018 respectively. The Dutch operator provides broadband, TV and fixed and mobile telephony.
Delta Fiber adds about 20,000 new connections per month and is on its way to reaching 1 million lines by the end of 2021. Its new network deployment will be based on XGS-PON equipment that enables service at up to 10 Gbps. This is the prelude to its 25G-PON technology, allowing speeds up to 25 Gbps.
The firms said Delta Fiber will benefit from EQT’s and Stonepeak’s expertise in the digital infrastructure sector and track record in fibre deployment in the Netherlands and Europe. They said they are committed to accelerating nationwide B2C and B2B FTTH connectivity in suburban and rural areas. They said the company’s fibre broadband has approximately 40-60 percent lower energy consumption than the legacy networks.
The transaction is subject to customary conditions and approvals and is expected to close in December 2021. Marco Visser, CEO of Delta Fiber, said the fact that EQT is choosing to invest in the company again, together with Stonepeak, shows confidence in its "ambitious" plans. The aim is to reach a footprint of 2 million fibre connections by 2025, thereby covering a quarter of the country.
