Antin Infrastructure Partners closes acquisition of Ufinet Spain and appoints Eduardo Taulet as Executive Chairman

Antin Infrastructure Partners (“Antin”), a leading independent private equity firm focused on infrastructure investments, announced today that it has closed the acquisition of Ufinet Group’s Spanish business from private equity firm Cinven and appointed Eduardo Taulet, former CEO of Yoigo, as Executive Chairman.

Ufinet Spain is a leading independent wholesale fibre platform with a unique nation-wide long-haul network, high capillarity in metro areas and fast growing dark fibre, lit fibre and fibre to the home (“FTTH”) businesses.

Ufinet Spain was originally carved-out from Spanish utility Gas Natural Fenosa in 2014 along with the international operations of Ufinet and has since grown at a rapid pace, with 2017 sales of €81m and a 10% EBITDA CAGR from 2015 to 2017.

Antin is a highly experienced investor in telecommunications with strong focus on fibre infrastructure. Having identified fibre as a key beneficiary from exponentially-growing data demand and shift away from legacy technologies, Antin was one of the early investors in the space. Ufinet is Antin’s fourth investment in fibre infrastructure following investments in Eurofiber (Netherlands and Belgium), CityFibre (UK) and FirstLight Fiber (United States). The closing of FirstLight Fiber is anticipated later this year subject to regulatory approvals.

Antin is pleased to announce the appointment of senior Spanish telecommunications executive Eduardo Taulet as Executive Chairman of the board of Ufinet Spain. Eduardo was CEO of Yoigo, the number four MNO in Spain until its acquisition by MasMovil in 2016, and subsequently served as senior advisor to the board of MasMovil. He previously held senior management positions in various other companies in the Spanish telecommunications sector. Eduardo will work alongside the existing Ufinet Spain management team led by CEO Juan Francisco Diaz Chiron and focus on supporting the company on strategic growth projects and deepening relationships with key customers.

Mark Crosbie, Managing Partner at Antin said: “We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of Ufinet Spain and to announce the appointment of Eduardo Taulet as Executive Chairman. Eduardo has worked extremely closely with us throughout the transaction and we are looking forward to supporting him and the Ufinet Spain management team in delivering the significant growth potential that we see in this next stage of the company’s development.”

Eduardo Taulet, Executive Chairman of Ufinet Spain also added: “I’m very excited about joining Ufinet Spain and working with Juan Francisco and the team. Ufinet Spain is well positioned to leverage its unique network footprint and attractive wholesale business model to benefit from the strong growth potential in the Spanish telecom market.”

Antin was advised by Deutsche Bank (sole financial adviser), Herbert Smith Freehills (legal adviser), Candesic and Rivergo (commercial advisers), Ernst & Young (accounting and tax adviser), Hardiman Telecommunications (technical adviser) and Marsh (insurance adviser).

Antin’s acquisition debt financing was provided by Santander, DNB, ING, Natixis and Société Générale as Underwriters and Mandated Lead Arrangers, and by Deutsche Bank, HSH Nordbank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation as Mandated Lead Arrangers.

About Ufinet Spain
Ufinet Spain is a leading independent wholesale fibre platform in Spain with a unique nation-wide long-haul network providing dark fibre, lit fibre and FTTH to telecommunications operators. The company has a long-haul access network of 13,508 kilometres and significant metro capillarity of 4,144 kilometres with a presence in 1,141 cities across Spain. Ufinet Spain is carrier-neutral and focuses on the wholesale market with primarily blue-chip customers on long-term contracts with high renewal rates.