Taylor Wessing advises Telefónica SA on the establishment of a joint venture with Allianz Capital Partners for the expansion of fibre-optics in Germany

Telefónica SA, through its subsidiary Telefónica Infra S.L.U., together with the investor Allianz Capital Partners, acting on behalf of various Allianz insurance companies and the Allianz European Infrastructure Fund, is planning an investment worth billions in the expansion of the German fibre-optic network. For this project, the Allianz companies and the subsidiary of the Spanish telecommunications company, Telefónica Deutschland, will join the joint venture on closing of the transaction. The international commercial law firm Taylor Wessing, under the leadership of the two partners Dr. Mark Hoenike and Marc André Gimmy, advised Telefónica SA on the establishment of the joint venture. The transaction is subject to approval by the EU Commission.

Within the framework of the joint venture, Telefónica intends to provide households in Germany with modern fibre optic connections ("Fibre to the Home" - FTTH), mainly in rural areas, which are currently excluded from high-speed Internet access. Compared to other European countries, Germany is at present one of the countries lagging behind with its offer of fast fibre optic connections. This is quite different from Spain, which has installed an almost nationwide fibre optic network within a few years. Telefónica has played a decisive role in this rapid expansion.

Legal advisors Telefónica SA

Taylor Wessing: Lead partners Dr. Mark Hoenike (Partner, Corporate M&A, Hamburg) and Marc André Gimmy (Partner, Employment, Pensions & Mobility, Munich), Dr. Kathrin Monen (Salary Partner, Düsseldorf), Dr. Julien Schlagowski (Associate, Hamburg), Julia Wellhöfer (Associate, Hamburg), Till Schwichtenberg (Associate, Düsseldorf), all Corporate, Prof. Dr. Jens Escher (Partner, Düsseldorf), Dr. Philipp Weiten (Senior Associate), both Tax, both Düsseldorf, Dr Michael Brüggemann (Partner, Düsseldorf), Dr Marco Hartmann-Rüppel (Partner, Hamburg), Dr Melanie Niehren (Senior Associate, Düsseldorf), Paulina Stemmler (Associate, Düsseldorf), Lara Skotki (Associate, Hamburg), all Antitrust, Dieter Lang (Partner), Lars Borchardt (Associate), both Regulatory, both Hamburg, Dr Janina Pochhammer (Partner), Dr. Carsten Schulz (Partner), Timo Stellpflug (Partner), Alessa Steigertahl (Associate), all Projects, Energy & Infrastructure, all Hamburg, Dr. David Klein (Salary Partner, Hamburg), Mareike Christine Gehrmann (Salary Partner, Düsseldorf), André Guskow (Salary Partner, Hamburg), Dr. Carolin Monsees (Senior Associate, Hamburg), Fritz-Ulli Pieper (Senior Associate, Düsseldorf), Anneliese Hartlaub (Associate, Hamburg), Dr. Christopher Jones (Associate, Hamburg), all Technology, Media & Telecom, Dr Michael Pils (Partner, Düsseldorf), Dr Klara Pototzky (Associate, Munich), both Employment, Pensions & Mobility, Dr Gunbritt Kammerer-Galahn (Partner, Düsseldorf), Dr Jens Wiesner (Partner, Hamburg), Dr Yannick Eckervogt (Associate, Düsseldorf), all Finance/Insurance