KKR has struck an agreement with Telefónica Colombia, a subsidiary of the Spanish telecom group Telefónica, to establish the first independent nationwide open-access wholesale digital infrastructure company in Colombia.
As part of the agreement, KKR will acquire a majority stake in Telefónica's existing fiber optic network, the largest in Colombia, and make the network open-access through a newly established independent entity, which KKR will control as the majority shareholder. Telefónica will be a minority shareholder in the new company, with a 40 percent stake.
The transaction is valued at $500 million and will be made via KKR’s global infrastructure fund. The firm currently oversees $28 billion in infrastructure assets and has made more than 45 infrastructure investments across a range of subsectors and geographies.
With the latest investment, the new company plans to expand existing fiber optic coverage from 1.2 million homes to a minimum of 4.3 milli