Vodafone, Altice Forge €7B German Fibre Collaboration

Vodafone Group Plc VOD and Altice created a joint venture (FibreCo) to deploy fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) to up to 7 million homes over six years.
FibreCo looks to invest up to €7 billion, which will likely finance 70% by debt.
The 50-50 fibre venture with French billionaire, Patrick Drahi's Altice, will build fibre optic lines to up to 7 million homes in Germany.
The deal will likely close in the first half of next year.
Vodafone will likely receive cash proceeds from Altice of up to €1.2 billion, comprising upfront payment of €120 million at closing, additional deferred payments of up to €487 million, and an earn-out of up to €595 million.
Around 80% of the proposed network will focus on significant housing associations within Vodafone's current footprint, and the rest will focus on neighboring homes.
It will sell wholesale access to rival telecommunication providers.
Vodafone CEO Nick Read commented: "This significant infrastructure investment supports the country's social, economic, and digital development and the broadband ambitions of the German government as part of Europe's Digital Decade targets."
Altice Co-CEO David Drahi commented: "We have pioneered fibre joint ventures in France and Portugal and are thus thrilled to be able to replicate such a feat in Germany with such a partner."
Germany became Vodafone's biggest market after it bought cable operator Unitymedia along with other units for €18.4 billion in 2019, reports Bloomberg.
In October, Vodafone confirmed discussions with CK Hutchison Holdings LTD CKHUF about a possible combination of their U.K. businesses.
The deal would involve combining Vodafone UK and Three UK, with Vodafone holding 51% and CK Hutchison owning 49% of the new unit.
The U.K. Government rightly sees 5G as transformational for the economy and society and critical to the country becoming more competitive in an increasingly digital world.
Price Action: VOD shares traded higher by 2.32% at $11.48 in the premarket on the last check Monday.
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