BCLP advises Altice in successful European Commission clearance for fiber-optic network joint venture with Vodafone in Germany

The Paris office of international law firm BCLP has advised Altice Luxembourg S.A. (Altice) on gaining successful European Commission clearance for the creation of a nationwide fiber-optic-to-the-home network joint venture with Vodafone Group Plc (Vodafone) in Germany.

Approved unconditionally on Feb. 17, the 50/50 joint venture is set to roll-out and connect c. seven million households with fiber-optic connections over a six-year period.

Altice’s stake has a purchase price of up to €1.2 billion and in addition, the telecoms company will contribute up to €950 million in equity injections to the joint venture.

Altice has been active in the operation of fibre and mobile broadband networks for several years and already operates fibre networks in France, Portugal, and Israel. This transaction provides an attractive opportunity for Altice to further increase its international footprint by expanding its business into the German market where it already has a growing activity in the supply of installation and maintenance services of telecommunications networks through its subsidiary Geodesia.

The BCLP team was composed of Partner Julie Catala-Marty and Associate Paul Blin who successfully assisted Altice throughout the notification procedure to the clearance decision of the European Commission by providing comprehensive advice on the drafting of the notification Form CO as well as the whole filing process.

The team worked together with lawyers from Greenberg Traurig in Berlin, and the French law firm De Pardieu in Paris on corporate aspects.

Vodafone was advised by Slaughter & May in London and Brussels.