21-07-2020

ielo welcomes a new shareholder and invests €160 Million to accelerate the expansion of its fibre network

France's neutral infrastructure operator is reaffirming its ambition to become the country's third-largest wholesale fibre infrastructure provider for businesses and the leading wholesale-only operator. ielo, the fibre infrastructure operator dedicated to the wholesale business market, announces the arrival of DIF Capital Partners, the European infrastructure investment fund, as a minority shareholder. The investment is designed to support ielo's growth and accelerate its nationwide expansion across France. The transaction also reflects DIF Capital Partners' commitment to continuing its investments in telecommunications infrastructure throughout Europe.

Born from the merger of IELO and LIAZO in 2016, the IELO-LIAZO Group has established itself as a key player in the French telecommunications market. The combination of the two companies brought together complementary expertise, enabling the deployment of a proprietary fibre network across France and the expansion of a highly distributed network of Points of Presence (PoPs). Over the years, the group has consistently demonstrated both its technical expertise and significant growth potential.

As a neutral operator focused exclusively on the wholesale market, the group generated €13.5 million in revenue in 2019 and today serves more than 250 active operator partners, supported by a team of over 90 employees.

DIF Capital Partners’ investment, made through its Core Infrastructure Fund II (CIF II), reflects a long-term strategy and will enable the group to significantly expand its national footprint, with the objective of becoming France’s third-largest wholesale fibre infrastructure operator.

By welcoming DIF Capital Partners into its shareholder base, ielo strengthens its equity position and secures the resources necessary to carry out large-scale investments while preserving the group’s neutrality, a core principle that remains fundamental to its positioning and deeply valued by its founders.

The transaction also marks a new chapter for the company, with IELO-LIAZO officially becoming ielo. The four co-founders, Julien Ducros, Arthur Fernandez, Frédéric Motte, and Bertrand Yvain, remain majority shareholders.

 

€90 Million Invested in Two Years to Cover 95 French Metropolitan Areas

Driven by the growing demand for business connectivity, ielo plans to continue expanding across France through a total investment programme of approximately €160 million over five years, including €90 million during the next two years alone.

The ielo fibre network is a modern, high-quality urban optical infrastructure built using proprietary deployment methods and technologies developed internally, a hallmark of the group’s approach.

Today, the network consists of more than 2,000 km of fibre infrastructure, covering 30 metropolitan areas and enabling operator partners to connect more than 1,500 businesses.

With the support of DIF Capital Partners, ielo plans to triple the footprint of its backbone network over the next two years through the deployment of more than 4,800 km of additional fibre infrastructure across 95 major metropolitan areas and economic zones throughout France.

This infrastructure platform, fully owned, deployed, and operated by ielo, will enable the company to commercialise a broader range of high-value infrastructure services designed to address the connectivity needs of organisations of all sizes, complementing its flagship FTTO (Fiber to the Office) offering.

To support this ambitious programme, ielo also plans to expand its workforce significantly through the creation of new regional technical centres and the recruitment of approximately 220 additional employees over the next five years.

"ielo is reaching a major milestone in its history. Having always been owned and managed by its founders, the company will now benefit from the long-term support of DIF Capital Partners. Beyond recognising the journey we have made and the expertise of our teams, this investment represents a powerful accelerator for achieving our ambitions.
We intend to continue strengthening our presence throughout France while expanding our infrastructure product portfolio. ielo's positioning, as a neutral, independent, and wholesale-only operator, is fundamental. Our role is to build and operate the infrastructure foundation that enables our customers and partners to meet the growing needs of the business market with the highest levels of quality.
In DIF Capital Partners, we have found a team that understands our vision and shares our values. Together, we will continue to accelerate the development of our fibre infrastructure on a national scale while preserving and enhancing the principles that have driven ielo's success: independence, integrity, and expertise."
Arthur Fernandez President, ielo
"DIF Capital Partners has invested extensively in the telecommunications sector across Europe and North America for many years, particularly in projects involving data centres and fibre infrastructure. This investment aligns perfectly with our strategy of supporting high-potential digital infrastructure markets, especially the fast-growing B2B segment. We identified ielo as the ideal partner, one of the very few operators fully dedicated to wholesale infrastructure and the only one with a clear ambition to expand on a national scale. The company's 100% infrastructure-focused model, combined with the significant greenfield component of its future deployments, will benefit from DIF Capital Partners' extensive experience in the French market.
We have great confidence in ielo's management team and employees and are delighted to support the group as it develops into a leading national player within the telecommunications infrastructure sector."
Thomas Vieillescazes Partner and Head of France, DIF Capital Partners

About ielo

The ielo Group provides enterprise connectivity products through solutions offered exclusively to telecommunications operators under a wholesale-only model.

Operating its own fibre infrastructure, ielo offers extensive geographic coverage across approximately 30 of France’s largest metropolitan areas, spanning 161 municipalities across 23 departments.

Since 2014, the company has pursued an ambitious strategy of building and operating its own network infrastructure through sustained investment and continuous deployment, progressively expanding its presence across the French territory.

 

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is an independent infrastructure investment manager overseeing more than €6.7 billion in assets across eight closed-end funds and several investment vehicles. DIF invests in both new and existing infrastructure projects, primarily across Europe, North America, and Australia, through two complementary investment strategies:

  • DIF Infrastructure Funds invest in equity positions within Public-Private Partnerships (PPP/PFI/P3), concessions, public utility projects and renewable energy infrastructure, typically supported by long-term contracts or regulated revenue streams.
  • DIF CIF Funds invest in small and medium-sized companies operating in the energy, transportation, and telecommunications sectors, supported by medium-term contractual revenue streams.

DIF Capital Partners employs more than 135 professionals across 9 offices in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Paris, Santiago, Sydney and Toronto.

For more information: www.dif.eu

 

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