Vodafone closes agreement with MasOrange to create the largest fiber wholesaler in Spain: advisors

Cuatrecasas has advised Vodafone Holdings Europe on its agreement with MasOrange to set up a joint wholesale fiber optic company in Spain, a FibreCo that will cover some 12.2 million real estate units (homes, offices and premises, customers of both technologies) and will be the largest FTTH wholesale operator in the country, with an estimated enterprise value of between 8 and 10 billion euros.

The new FibreCo will enable Vodafone and MasOrange to maximize the use of the existing FTTH network, as well as capture efficiencies from both the existing network and its future technological evolutions, allowing them to offer the best services to their customers. The transaction will enhance the offering of fiber optic broadband services in the Spanish end-user market. It will also provide access to the highest quality and highest speed fiber optic network and support the rapid adoption of new technologies.

Vodafone will use FibreCo to provide services to its existing and future retail and wholesale customers within its coverage area or footprint. This network will be a benchmark in sustainable development, meeting the highest ESG standards through more efficient use of network assets.

The combination will ensure access to a nationwide fiber optic network at attractive economic terms and enable significant cost savings across the business.

“The entry into this FibreCo partnership with MasOrange, together with the recently announced agreements with Telefónica, transform Vodafone Spain’s fixed line strategy. We believe these transactions will be among the most relevant in the fiber optic market and a benchmark for the telecommunications sector in Spain,” said Federico Roig, a lawyer in the corporate M&A group who led a team comprising Irene Moreno Tapia, Enrique Carrera, Mariano Ucar, Julene Areitio, Pedro López-Dóriga, Mario Mas, Pablo del Moral and Paula Maria Wignall.