Digital infrastructure

Sectors
Telecoms
Digital infrastructure

A market-leading digital infrastructure offering

Linklaters has been involved in the telecoms and infrastructure sectors’ biggest deals for many years. In response to the growing generation of digital information and the rise in demand for the infrastructure that underpins it, the remit of the team has widened to provide market-leading expertise across digital infrastructure assets, including data centres, fibre and towers.

The team has a real depth and breadth of experience, regularly advising corporates, funds and financial institutions on their most high-profile, complex and innovative deals. This experience ensures that our clients benefit from tactical advice based on the latest market precedents.

These transactions often involve the multiple complexities of bespoke corporate and financing structures, a regulated sector and key commercial contracts, playing into the combined strengths of our market leading corporate, finance, telecoms and regulatory teams.

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European Digital Infrastructure Deal of the Year: G.Network Fundraising
IJ Global Awards 2021

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European Digital Infrastructure FTTH Deal of the Year:
THD Loire-Atlantique
IJ Global Awards 2021

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Telecoms Deal of the Year: SFR FTTH Project
Project Finance International 2020

Selected Data Centre highlights

Vantage Data Centers:

- advising on the establishment of their European data centre and colocation platform, supported by a consortium of investors including Digital Bridge, as well as advising on a series of subsequent non-core disposals.

- advising on its acquisition of Etix Everywhere, a provider of colocation services through its global network of hyperscale, edge and HPC data centres.

- acquisition of Next Generation Data, a purpose-built, carrier-neutral Tier III data centre facility in Wales.

Digital Bridge:

- advising on its 50/50 joint venture with Liberty Global and the establishment of Atlas Edge.

- advising on the establishment of Scala Data Centers S/A, a Latin American hyperscale data centre platform headquartered in Brazil, through the acquisition of data centre and colocation assets from UOL Diveo.

PSP and Macquarie Asia Infrastructure Fund: advising on the acquisition of data centre specialist AirTrunk.
Linx Telecommunciations: advising on the sale of a 100% stake in Svyaz VSD LLC, one of the leading providers of data centre services in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Selected Fibre Highlights

Orange Polish FTTH business: advising on the commercial and regulatory aspects of the spin-off of its FTTH fibre business in Poland.
G.Network: advising USS, the UK’s largest private pension scheme, on their investment into G.Network.
CityFibre: advising a bidder on the potential strategic investment into CityFibre, the UK’s largest alternative provider of wholesale fibre network.
FTTH network Germany: advising on the financing of a JV, Unsere Grüne Glasfaser GmbH & Co KG, in connection with the roll-out and operation of an open-access wholesale FTTH network across Germany.
MasMovil FTTH network: advising Daiwa Energy & Infrastructure (alongside Macquarie Capital and Aberdeen Standard Investments) on the acquisition of indirect interest in a large rural FTTH network from MasMovil.
Altice FTTH Portugal: advising Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners on the acquisition of 49.9% of Altice fibre infrastructure in Portugal.
Altice FTTH France: advising OMERS, Allianz and AXA IM on the €1.9bn roll-out of SFR FTTH’s fibre network in France.

Selected tower highlights

CK Hutchison: advising on the €10bn sale of its large portfolio of telecommunications towers assets in Europe to Cellnex.
Vodafone: advising on the £18bn spin-off of Vodafone’s pan-European mast business to form ‘Vantage Towers’ which will comprise over 61,000 mobile phone masts located across Europe.
EdgePoint Infrastructure: advising on the Digital Bridge-backed platform’s US$750m sale-and-leaseback acquisition of more than 4,200 telecommunications towers from PT Indosat Tbk, one of Indonesia’s leading digital telecoms providers.
Arqiva: advising on the sale of its telecoms division (towers business) to Cellnex Telecom S.A. for £2bn.
Helios Towers: advising this leading independent telecom tower company with operations across five countries in sub-Saharan Africa, on its initial public offering on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange.
Altice Portugal: advising a consortium led by funds advised by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure on the acquisition of a 75% stake in Altice’s Portuguese towers business of MEO, a subsidiary of Altice N.V. and its subsequent sale to Cellnex.
Altice France: advising the sponsor on the financing of KKR’s acquisition of 49.9% interest in Altice’s French tower business.

Selected space highlights

Galileo satellite project: advising the European Commission on the initial procurement of the Galileo satellite project.
A San Francisco based venture capital firm: advising the fund with respect to the establishment and first closing of a fund investing in space-linked start-ups with disruptive technologies, products and services.
Alcatel Space: advising on the purchase of 48.8% of Alcatel Space from Thales.
MEASAT satellites: advising the media arm of an Indonesian conglomerate on a transponder capacity lease agreement in respect of MEASAT satellites.
Optus Satellite: advising a major international satellite operator on the potential acquisition of the Optus Satellite business.
Inmarsat: advising on the US$1.5bn financing of Apax and Permira’s acquisition of Inmarsat.
PT Asia Cellular Satellite acquisition: advising Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications on the acquisition of a shareholding in a satellite operator company PT Asia Cellular Satellite.