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Current Portfolio

Deutsche Glasfaser

Targeting to provide fiber connectivity to 6 million households by 2030.

Deutsche Glasfaser and inexio will together form the leading provider of fiber-optic internet connectivity for private households and business customers in rural Germany.

Key Facts
Sector

Digital

Country

Germany

Fund

EQT Infrastructure IV, EQT Infrastructure V

Entry

2020

Responsible Advisor

Matthias Fackler

Hands typing on a laptop keyboard, with a blurred computer monitor in the background.

About

Deutsche Glasfaser and inexio will together form the leading provider of fiber-optic internet connectivity for private households and business customers in rural Germany, targeting to provide fiber connectivity to 6 million households by 2030.

Deutsche Glasfaser was founded in 2011 and has since then been pioneering “fiber-to-the-home” (FTTH) roll-out in rural areas in Germany. Today the company is Germany‘s leading FTTH platform with a best-in-class roll-out machine in place.

inexio was founded by David Zimmer in 2007 and has since the start invested heavily in fiber infrastructure in rural and small-town communities in Germany, predominantly in the Southwestern and Southern parts.

The combined company is Germany's leading FTTH platform and is today already offering fiber-based high-speed internet access to more than 1 million households and businesses in rural Germany.

Market trends and drivers

Germany is one of the most attractive growth markets for fiber in Europe as the penetration rates are significantly lower than in other countries. Specifically, in 2019 only 9% of German households had access to an FTTH internet connection compared to 73% in Sweden and 36% in the Netherlands. As demand for bandwidth is expected to increase strongly driven primarily by rising data volumes and the growth of video streaming, the German government announced its plan to provide universal Gigabit internet access.

Investment potential

The combined group is committed to continue rolling out a large-scale FTTH network that is expected to bring high-speed internet connectivity to 6 million rural and suburban German households by 2030, which represents a significant share of the German government’s plan to provide universal Gigabit internet access. The planned roll-out will be supported by the group’s best-in-class roll-out machine and its unique existing backbone and metro network. Besides this comprehensive B2C agenda, the company will also focus on strengthening its existing B2B business.

Board of directors

Chairperson

Eric Elzvik

Board member

Matthias Fackler

Board member

Marco Visser

Board member

Rocio Lorenzo

Board member

Timm Degenhardt

Board member

Jens Schulte-Bockum

Board member

David Zimmer

Management

CEO

Andreas Pfisterer

CFO

Anna Dimitrova

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