DIF Capital Partners has completed a majority investment into Valley Fiber Ltd. to build fiber-to-the-home (FttH) and fiber-to-the-business (FttB) networks in Manitoba, Canada.
Schiphol, The Netherlands based DIF Capital Partners is is a leading global independent infrastructure fund manager investing in greenfield and brownfield infrastructure assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas and Australasia.
Vally Fiber investment was made through DIF Core Infrastructure Fund II (DIFCIF II), a 2019-vintage fund with a reportedly fundraising target of €1 billion
Valley Fiber is the first investment for DIF CIF II.
Led by CEO Hank Wall, Winkler, Manitoba based Valley Fiber specializes in the development, construction and operations of fiber and fixed-wireless infrastructure for residential and commercial use. Valley Fiber has received support from municipal and federal levels of government in Canada.
DIF Capital Partners’ investment will allow Valley Fiber to connect more than 15,000 homes and businesses to fiber over the next two years. The transaction contemplates a conservative capital structure that provides additional financial resiliency in the current environment.
photo credit: Valley Fiber Ltd. (Jan 30, 2020)
News Release
20 April 2020 | Toronto
DIF Capital Partners invests in Canadian fiber optic networks build out
DIF Capital Partners, through its DIF Core Infrastructure Fund II (“DIF CIF II”), is pleased to announce that it has completed a majority investment into Valley Fiber Ltd (“Valley Fiber”) to build fiber-to-the-home (“FttH”) and fiber-to-the-business (“FttB”) networks in Manitoba, Canada.
Based in Winkler, Manitoba, Valley Fiber is a telecommunications infrastructure company that specializes in the development, construction and operations of fiber and fixed-wireless infrastructure for residential and commercial use. Valley Fiber has received support from municipal and federal levels of government in Canada. DIF Capital Partners’ investment will allow Valley Fiber to connect more than 15,000 homes and businesses to fiber over the next two years. The transaction contemplates a conservative capital structure which provides additional financial resiliency in the current environment.
Valley Fiber was incorporated in 2016 and has successfully built a presence in Southern Manitoba, constructing high quality telecommunications infrastructure to service the historically underserved communities. Valley Fiber currently operates in more than 20 municipalities in Manitoba. The transaction also includes the acquisition of 40 operating fixed-wireless towers.
“The Valley Fiber team is extremely excited to have found a long-term partner that shares the same values and vision of how to bring the best-in-class fiber and telecommunication infrastructure to the region. With the support from the Canadian government and our financial partner DIF Capital Partners, we look forward to usher in a new generation of economic development and diversity to Southern Manitoba” comments Hank Wall, CEO of Valley Fiber.
The transaction is the first investment for DIF CIF II and underlines the key strategic focus to invest in digital infrastructure. “We are pleased with our long-term investment into the Valley Fiber platform for the roll out of fiber in rural Canada. This is an excellent opportunity for DIF CIF II to invest in a high growth company with a strong management team and to further expand our presence into the fast-growing telecom infrastructure sector” comments Willem Jansonius, Head of DIF CIF.
DIF Capital Partners was advised by Agentis Capital (financial) and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg (legal).
About DIF Capital Partners
DIF Capital Partners is a leading global independent infrastructure fund manager, with €7.4 billion of assets under management across nine closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF Capital Partners invests in greenfield and brownfield infrastructure assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas and Australasia through two complementary strategies:
DIF CIF funds target equity investments in small to mid-sized infrastructure assets in the telecom, energy and transportation sectors.
DIF Infrastructure funds target equity investments in public-private partnerships (PPP/PFI/P3), concessions, utilities and renewable energy projects with long-term contracted or regulated income streams.
DIF has a team of over 140 professionals, based in nine offices located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Paris, Santiago, Sydney and Toronto. Please visit www.dif.eu for further information.
Contact:
Allard Ruijs, Partner
Email: a.ruijs@dif.eu