Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised MIH Management AG (“MIH”) on the acquisition of Eurofiber Netz GmbH (“Eurofiber Netz”) in Berlin from Eurofiber Germany GmbH.
With this acquisition, MIH Group (“MIH”) expands its presence in the German fibre-optic market and complements its existing portfolio comprising the construction and operation of fibre-optic networks with the targeted marketing of network infrastructure. Together with the Eurofiber Netz team, MIH, as a strategic investor, aims to support the commercial use, marketing and further economic development of the existing infrastructure in Berlin.
MIH, based in Liechtenstein and Horstmar, is an entrepreneurial infrastructure investor and operator focused on fibre and telecommunications networks in Germany, developing, building, and operating high-performance network infrastructures.
Eurofiber Germany, based in Munich, is part of the Eurofiber Group, a leading pan-European operator of digital infrastructure. The Eurofiber Group is backed by investors Antin Infrastructure Partners and the PGGM pension fund.
Eurofiber Netz is an open-access fibre-optic operator. With more than 150,000 connectable households (Homes Passed), Eurofiber Netz operates a high-performance FTTB/FTTH fibre-optic infrastructure in the capital, Berlin.
The Infrastructure WFW team that advised MIH was led by Hamburg Corporate Partner Christian R. Schindler, working closely with Employment Partner Dr Andreas Wiegreffe, Antitrust Partner Dr Christine Bader, Düsseldorf Telecommunication/Regulatory Counsel Rebecca Trampe-Berger, Frankfurt Tax Counsel Manuel Rustler, Hamburg Real Estate Counsel Tatjana Giutronich und Frankfurt Finance Counsel Christian H. Hinzmann. The team was supported by Senior Associate Moritz von Baumbach, Associates Dr Benedikt Kraft, Katja Westermann, Elisabeth Aschenbrenner and Finn Ortmeier.
Christian commented: “We are delighted to have advised MIH on this strategically important transaction. The acquisition of the Eurofiber network underscores the viability of an integrated infrastructure approach. The transaction highlights the increasing consolidation in the German fibre-optic market and, at the same time, reflects our extensive experience in complex transactions in the digital infrastructure sector”.
