Latham & Watkins Advises IFM Investors on Joint Venture With Deutsche Telekom

Latham & Watkins LLP advised IFM Global Infrastructure Fund, advised by IFM Investors (together IFM) on a longterm partnership with Deutsche Telekom. IFM will acquire a 50 percent stake in group subsidiary and fiber roll-out company GlasfaserPlus GmbH.

The resulting Joint Venture, aims to roll out additional gigabit-capable FTTH (fiber to the home) to over four million homes in rural and subsidized areas in Germany by 2028. Subject to pending merger control and other applicable approvals by the relevant authorities, the joint venture is expected to roll out fiber networks from 2022 and also participate in government subsidy tenders. The resulting network will be opened up to Deutsche Telekom as well as its competitors on a non-discriminatory basis. GlasfaserPlus GmbH will offer attractive bitstream access (BSA) services to Deutsche Telekom and third-party providers on a wholesale basis.

IFM Investors was established more than 25 years ago and is owned by a group of Australian pension funds. IFM Investors manages funds of €108bn (as at June 30 2021) on behalf of pension funds and other like-minded institutional investors, who represent more than 30 million pension fund members globally. IFM Investors actively engages on ESG issues with the companies in which it invests with the aim of enhancing their net performance while minimising investment risk.

Latham represented IFM with a team jointly led by London corporate partner John Guccione and Düsseldorf corporate partner Tobias Larisch as well as London finance partner Conrad Andersen, with Düsseldorf corporate associates Katharina Intfeld, Alexander Belk, and Ivo Wanwitz. Advice on regulatory matters was provided by Frankfurt counsel Joachim Grittmann and associate Alexander Wilhelm; and on antitrust matters by Hamburg counsel Jana Dammann de Chapto and Frankfurt associate Nicolas Jung.