Portugal’s FastFiber and fund Vauban Infraestruture to acquire DSTelecom
The race to acquire DSTelecom has entered the binding offer phase, and at least two candidates are undergoing due diligence, according to the Jornal Económico.
One is the Portuguese company FastFiber, the largest wholesale fiber optic network operator in Portugal. It specialises in providing telecommunications infrastructure (such as FTTH and dark fiber) to other operators, and was created through a partnership between Altice Portugal and the Morgan Stanley fund.
FastFiber, whose CEO is Pedro Rocha, possesses the largest and most modern fibre optic network in Portugal. It is 49.99% owned by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, while Altice owns 50.01%.
The other candidate to acquire DSTelecom is the Vauban Infrastructure Partners infrastructure fund—a French investment fund management company, a subsidiary of the Natixis group, an investment bank of the BPCE Group focused on long-term investment in essential and sustainable infrastructure.
Vauban Infrastructure Partners has investments in transport infrastructure in Portugal and even bid to buy the Douro Litoral Highway (AEDL).
The Natixis fund holds minority stakes in the concessionaires Via Expresso (regional roads VE 1, VE 2, VE 3 and VE 4) and Via Litoral (highway VR1 between Ribeira Brava and Machico Sul).
In 2020, the Baixo Alentejo road sub-concession was sold to the Vauban Infrastructure Partners fund.
DSTelecom — the largest wholesale telecommunications operator in Portugal, a leader focused on the construction and management of “open access” fiber optic networks (FTTH), especially in less densely populated areas — is therefore in the process of changing shareholders.
This is because it is not only the Cube Infrastructure Managers fund, which holds 54% of the largest wholesale telecommunications operator in Portugal, that will sell its stake in the company. The Braga-based group, led by the Gonçalves Teixeira family (the DST Group), which owns the remaining 46%, will also sell. This means the entirety of DSTelecom is up for sale.
Value of deal unknown
Cube Infrastructure Managers, through Cube Infrastructure Fund II, acquired 54% of DSTelecom in 2018.
The telecommunications arm of the Braga-based company DST has been investing in infrastructure to cover its fiber optic network throughout the country.
DSTelecom manages a network that already covers one million homes in 153 municipalities and 157 industrial parks.
Fibre optic companies are attractive due to their rapid growth and high valuation.
The sector stands out for providing critical infrastructure, with high demand in the corporate and residential markets.
Fibre is a critical infrastructure for the operation of any business. It is considered a fundamental pillar of modern digital communication and infrastructure. Instead of using electricity through copper cables, it transmits data through pulses of light within extremely thin strands of glass or plastic.
Source: Jornal Económico; Image:
