Antin Explores Sale of Dutch Network Owner Eurofiber

(Bloomberg) -- Antin Infrastructure Partners is exploring a sale of Dutch fiber-optic network owner Eurofiber that could value the company at more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion), people with knowledge of the matter said.

The Europe-focused private equity firm has had preliminary contact with potential buyers, including infrastructure funds, to gauge their interest, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Deliberations are at an early stage, and Antin hasn’t started a formal auction process, according to the people.

A sale could officially kick off next year, one of the people said. No final decisions have been made, and Antin may opt to retain the business for longer, they said. Officials at Antin didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Antin bought Eurofiber in 2015 for 875 million euros in a bid to tap rising demand for high-speed Internet access. Eurofiber’s fiber-optic network spans more than 31,000 kilometers (19,000 miles) to serve telecommunications providers and business customers in the Netherlands and Belgium, according to its website.

To contact the reporters on this story: Myriam Balezou in London at mbalezou@bloomberg.net;Dinesh Nair in London at dnair5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Aaron Kirchfeld at akirchfeld@bloomberg.net, Amy Thomson, Ben Scent

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