Recognition from the authoritative international financial journal for the extension of the company’s financing to €7.2 billion, plus a possible additional €2.8 billion
Rome, 10 May 2022 – Open Fiber has received the “M&A Deal of the Year 2021” award from PFI (Project Finance International), one of the most authoritative international financial magazines in the sector. The company, which is building a fiber optic infrastructure in Italy, received the award for having extended its project financing to €7.2 billion, plus a possible additional €2.8 billion, as part of the share transfer that took place in December 2021 when CDP group increased its stake in OF to 60% and Macquarie group to 40%.
The financing has been signed with leading Italian and European banks, including Banco BPM, Santander, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, Société Générale and UniCredit. With around €7.2 billion allocated and €2.8 billion that may eventually be used to extend coverage to commercial grey areasGrey Areas Grey Areas are those in which there is only one Network Operator providing ultra-broadband services and it is unlikely that another network will be installed., Open Fiber’s project financing is the largest financing operation for investments in telecommunications networks ever carried out in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa).
Open Fiber’s business plan provides for the coverage of 24 million properties in all regions of Italy, with a total investment of €15 billion. To date, the company, which as a wholesaleWholesale Open Fiber is a ‘wholesale only’ operator, i.e. it operates exclusively in the wholesale market, offering access on fair and non-discriminatory terms to all interested Market Operators.-only operator has commercial agreements with over 300 operators, has reached 14 million homes, businesses and local government offices. Connectivity services are available on Open Fiber’s networkNetwork In computer language, the term network defines a set of hardware and software devices which, when linked together, enable the exchange and sharing of resources, data or information. In a computer network, the devices that generate, route and terminate data are called network nodes. in 220 cities and in over 3,700 small towns.
Marco Bigatti, Head of Finance at Open Fiber, who collected the award on behalf of the company as part of the PFI Awards, commented: “Open Fiber is a sustainable and innovative company. In the last four years we have invested over €1 billion per annum, placing us among the leading investors in Italy. The award from PFI, one of the world’s top industry journals, confirms the interest and support of financial investors, in a particularly volatile market environment, for a project that is enabling Italy to climb the European rankings in the digital field.”