Telefónica Group and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) will collaborate to construct, develop, and operate FiBrasil, a neutral and independent optical fibre wholesale network in Brazil. The transaction is still subject to regulatory approval and closing is expected to occur in Q2 2021.
Upon completion of the transaction, Telefónica Group and CDPQ have agreed to hold 50% of shares in FiBrasil under a co-control governance model. In detail, Telefônica Brazil (Vivo), the global telco operator’s subsidiary, and Telefónica Infra, its infrastructure arm, will be holding a 25% stake each.
Ángel Vilá, Chief Operating Officer at Telefónica Group, commented, "we are very excited about this opportunity to partner with CDPQ, with whom we share the ambition to accelerate fibre roll-out in Brazil, contributing to Vivo's growth plans and to the country's digital development.”
FiBrasil is set to deploy and operate fibre-optic networks in selected mid-sized cities across Brazil and offer fibre-to-the-home ("FTTH") wholesale access to all telecommunications service providers within the area. Thus, enabling them to offer these services to their end customers. FiBrasil aims to expand Telefônica Brasil’s portfolio of 1.6 million Homes Passed (HPs) to around 5.5 million HPs within 4 years, accelerating the transition to fibre and contributing to the country's technological deployment.
In line with this, CDPQ is investing a total of up to R$1.8 billion (CA$408 million) in this joint venture. As a result, FiBrasil is set to become a leading operator in the Brazilian fibre space, with the backing of a strong set of shareholders.
Emmanuel Jaclot, Executive Vice-President and Head of Infrastructure, CDPQ, said, "this transaction is an opportunity to further diversify our infrastructure portfolio and demonstrates CDPQ's ongoing interest for Brazil and the wider Latin America region, where we see opportunities in a variety of sectors."
