A subsidiary of Altitude, the company is the fifth largest French telecom operator and first independent fibre player in France. Its strategy is enabled by €500 million in funding from Altitude, raised through equity and junior debt.
Altitude said the funds will allow the company to continue gaining scale in the French fibre market, to “consolidate its position as the largest independent fibre player in France”.
Altitude Infrastructure CEO, Dorothée Lebarbier, said: “Digitalising French companies successfully requires urgent deployment of a fibre optic network that fits the needs of companies across the country. This fundraising will enable us to invest €2.5bn over the next three years.
“Our ambition for Altitude, via Kosc, is to develop a solutions-centric offering that addresses the specific needs of corporates.”
As such, Altitude Infrastructure will expand its product offering and network reach with a focus on connectivity for corporates and SMEs. This builds on its commitment to the residential FTTH space, with more than three million contracted plugs across 17 Public Initiative Networks.
It’s the first move to cement Altitude’s bid to further build its wholesale Connectivity as a Service (CaaS) portfolio, since its acquisition of Kosc closed in August. The €14 billion deal was backed with a pledge to invest €100 million a year over the next five years to allow Kosc to better serve carrier customer growth.
The equity funds that will enable this new investment were raised through a pension fund allocation managed by UBS Asset Management and the transactions will be subject to clearance from relevant regulatory authorities and anti-trust authorities, with close expected in Q4.
Rodolphe Brumm, executive director in UBS Asset Management’s direct equity infrastructure team, said: “Altitude Infrastructure has a long-established track record in the French fibre market. We consider this opportune timing to gain exposure to such a high-growth digital infrastructure sector that has proven its resilience. Via this investment, we look forward to contributing to the development of PINs over the long-term with the aim of delivering secure income streams for the benefit of our client.”
