Latham & Watkins Advises EQT and OMERS on the Acquisition of Deutsche Glasfaser

Latham & Watkins LLP has advised EQT Infrastructure and OMERS on the acquisition of Deutsche Glasfaser, a leading provider of fibre optic internet connections in Germany. The EQT Infrastructure IV fund (EQT) and OMERS Infrastructure Management Inc. (OMERS Infrastructure), acting on behalf of OMERS, one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans, will acquire Deutsche Glasfaser from KKR Infrastructure and Reggeborgh. The transaction is expected to close in Q2 2020, subject to customary regulatory approval.

Deutsche Glasfaser will be combined with EQT Infrastructure IV portfolio company inexio to form a leading FttH (Fiber to the Home) player in rural Germany. EQT Infrastructure will own 51% in the combined group and OMERS will own 49%.

Since its establishment by Dutch investor Reggeborgh in 2011, Deutsche Glasfaser invested heavily in fiber infrastructure in underserved rural and suburban communities in Germany and today provides high-speed internet access to more than 600,000 households and 5,000 businesses. Deutsche Glasfaser's scalable network consists of more than 30,000 kilometers of fiber optic infrastructure. 

EQT is a differentiated global investment organization with more than €62 billion in raised capital and around €41 billion in assets under management across 19 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia, and the US with total sales of more than €21 billion and approximately 127,000 employees. 

OMERS Infrastructure manages investments globally in infrastructure on behalf of OMERS, the defined benefit pension plan for municipal employees in the Province of Ontario, Canada. OMERS has employees in Toronto and other major cities across North America, the UK, Continental Europe, Asia, and Australia. OMERS is one of Canada's largest defined benefit pension funds with net assets of C$97 billion. 

Latham advised EQT Infrastructure and OMERS in the transaction with a team led by Munich partner Rainer Traugott and Hamburg partner Nils Röver, with Hamburg associates Malte Ingwersen, Jacob Ahme, and Philipp Thomssen, and Munich associates Hanno Witt and Stephan Hufnagel. Advice was also provided on MPP matters by Frankfurt counsel Susanne Decker; on tax matters by Munich partner Stefan Süß and Hamburg associate Verena Seevers; on antitrust matters by Frankfurt partner Georg Weidenbach and associate Judith Kreher; on technology matters by Frankfurt counsel Thies Deike; on regulatory matters by Frankfurt counsel Joachim Grittmann and associate Alexander Wilhelm; on employment matters by Munich counsel Dirk Schnelle; on data privacy matters by Frankfurt associates Wolf-Tassilo Böhm and Valentino Halim; and on finance matters by Munich associate Thomas Freund. London M&A partner Brendan Moylan, finance counsel Seonaid Alison Todisco, and finance associate Rebecca Crowley also advised.