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The owners said that Glaspoort will invest over €1 billion in fibre over the next five years
Back in March, KPN announced that it had signed an agreement with Dutch pension fund APG to create a joint venture focussing on rolling out fibre throughout the Netherlands. Now, following regulatory approval from the Dutch Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM), the joint venture Glaspoort is now ready to begin connecting homes and businesses.
Headquartered in Amsterdam, Glaspoort will reportedly invest €1 billion into rolling out fibre over the next five years, targeting around 750,000 homes and around 225,000 businesses. Around 70,000 of these fibre connections will be completed this year.
“This transaction creates additional value for all stakeholders. The broadened scope of the project makes it increasingly relevant as even more villages will be connected to state-of-the-art fiber infrastructure and ensures almost nationwide fiber coverage by 2026,” said Joost Farwerck, CEO of KPN. “Together with 5G, fiber ensures the most modern and powerful network, supporting the Netherlands well into the 21st century.”
When combined with KPN’s own fibre rollout, which aims to reach half a million homes per year, Glaspoort’s efforts should result in roughly 80% of the Netherland’s households covered with fibre by 2026.
Glaspoort’s network will be open to all service providers, as per the requirements of the ACM. KPN will be an anchor tenant.
In related news, EQT and Stonepeak Partners have reportedly withdrawn their interest in a takeover bid for KPN. Back in April, the investment duo made a €12.6 billion bid for the Dutch operator, but this was rejected in May with KPN suggesting that the offer “did not provide tangible and material added value” to the operator’s new strategy.
Now, EQT and Stonepeak have revealed that they will not be pursuing the takeover attempt any further, saying that closing the deal would not be possible without the support of KPN’s management and supervisory boards.
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