24-06-2024

ielo continues its growth momentum with a €208 million structured financing

ielo, France's national Very High-Speed (VHS) infrastructure operator, announces the completion of a €208 million structured financing with a consortium of leading international financial institutions, including NAB, NordLB, Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EdRAM), LCL, NIBC, and LBPAM. This transaction follows the successful investment made by DIF Capital Partners in July 2020. It marks a new chapter in ielo's growth journey and will enable the company to continue developing the infrastructure foundations required to accelerate the digital transformation of businesses and territories alongside its operator partners. Through this financing, ielo further strengthens its position as a trusted and leading neutral infrastructure operator in the market.

Driven by the vision of its founders and the commitment of its teams, ielo, established in 2016, has become a national, neutral, and independent infrastructure operator in less than ten years.

Since the investment by DIF Capital Partners in 2020, ielo has multiplied the size of its metropolitan network footprint by ten and built its own nationwide long-haul network.

Designed as homogeneous, high-capacity infrastructures, these networks deliver a unique end-to-end quality of service and provide a significant competitive advantage for ielo’s operator partners.

Today, ielo operates and maintains:

  • 16,000 km of metropolitan fibre network, bringing connectivity as close as possible to end-customer locations;
  • 11,000 km of long-haul fibre network, transporting data for partners and their customers across France;
  • A presence in nearly 200 data centres across France and Europe.

In January 2024, ielo announced billed revenue of €43 million. Over the previous four years, the company achieved sustained growth averaging 33% per year, placing it among the most dynamic players in the digital infrastructure sector.

These strong results have been driven by the continued trust of its 400 active operator customers, joined in 2023 by 60 new national and international organisations.

Today, ielo is entering a new phase of development with this €208 million financing package. The transaction provides the financial framework and long-term stability required to support the company’s projects over the next five years.

Having reached both operational maturity and financial balance, ielo will continue to focus on expanding its business while supporting the digital ecosystem of its partners.

"This financing reflects the strong momentum that has driven ielo forward year after year. We are especially proud of how far we have come while remaining true to the values that define ielo: our independence, our integrity, and our expertise. Thanks to this transaction, our teams will continue deploying world-class fibre infrastructure across France. More than ever, we are committed to accelerating our growth in support of our partners and, more broadly, the French digital ecosystem."
Arthur Fernandez CEO, ielo

For this transaction, RBC Capital Markets, Latham & Watkins, and Dentons acted as advisors to ielo. The lenders were advised by A&O Shearman.

 

About ielo

ielo is an independent French telecom infrastructure operator specialising in Very High-Speed fibre-optic networks, delivering high-quality connectivity solutions to businesses and public sector organisations.

Now present in more than 3,300 municipalities, ielo operates a network designed specifically for the enterprise customers of its operator partners and supports local authorities in deploying their own infrastructure to enable public service missions.

The latest-generation ielo infrastructure is designed, deployed, and maintained entirely in-house to deliver the highest levels of availability.

In 2024, ielo employed 330 people, including 200 field technicians distributed across 12 Regional Technical Centres, ensuring consistent service quality and operational excellence throughout the country.

 

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