Fibre optic roll-out in Germany’s rural and semi-rural areas gets a major boost with the creation of Unsere Grüne Glasfaser

Allianz and Telefónica each hold a 50% stake in the joint venture under a co-control governance model. UGG thus benefits from the strong expertise and complementarities of both groups.

On the one hand, Telefónica, one of the world's largest telecommunications service providers, has extensive technical capabilities and know-how in the deployment and operation of fibre networks, which has already proven itself in many countries.

On the other hand, Allianz, one of the world's leading insurers and investors, brings the experience from several fibre investments, its financial strength and expertise as well as a strong local presence as long-term investor. 

UGG will offer FTTH (Fiber to the Home) access to all telecom service providers so they can offer these services to their end-customers.

COMMITTED TO ACCELERATING GERMANY'S SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT

The project is expected to connect more than two million households through the installation of some 50,000 kilometers of fiber optic network in rural and semi-rural areas of Germany, which are underserved regions.

To achieve this, an overall investment of up to five billion euros is planned, phased over the coming six years. This key investment by UGG supports the German government's plan to provide nationwide gigabit convergent internet infrastructure by 2025.

A LANDMARK TRANSACTION

This transaction is one of the largest financings in Germany to date, demonstrating lenders' strong appetite and support for this type of telecom infrastructure asset.

Societe Generale acted as Sole Debt Advisor, Mandated Lead Arranger, Sole Structuring Bank and Sole Market Hedge Coordinator for UGG in the 1,650 billion euros financing. Combining these four advisory and financing mandates illustrates the value that Societe Generale can bring to its clients by combining the expertise of its coverage and business teams across different countries.

The bank once again demonstrates the capabilities of its infrastructure and technology, media & telecom teams to provide innovative and efficient structured finance solutions to meet the expectations of its clients, as required for such projects with significant and positive social and economic impacts.

This transaction, along with others recent leading roles in fibre financing across Europe, solidifies Societe Generale as one of the leading banks in financing digital infrastructure, with over 31 fibre-related transactions completed over the past four years totaling more than 22.5 billion euros  in financing proceeds.

Press releases:
https://www.unseregrueneglasfaser.de/web/guest/-/unsere-gr%C3%BCne-glasfaser-ugg-secures-eur-1.65-billion-bank-financing-for-the-development-of-the-fiber-optic-infrastructure-in-germany 
https://www.telefonica.com/en/web/press-office/-/telefonica-and-allianz-create-a-partnership-to-deploy-fibre-in-germany-through-an-open-wholesale-company