Kommunalkredit Austria AG co-led €120M investment for German metrofibre

Düsseldorf-based metrofibre, a company that develops fibre networks to connect urban communities, has secured €120 million in senior debt financing. The investment was led by a consortium comprising ING, Kommunalkredit Austria AG, and SEB.

• Founded in 2022, metrofibre develops and operates fibre optic networks for urban areas. Its networks are designed to support the efficient rollout of the 5G mobile communications standard by incorporating antennas and pico cells, eliminating the need for separate infrastructure construction for 5G expansion.
• The company claims that its main goal is to create open and non-discriminatory access for different providers of telecommunications services. metrofibre, together with the city of Essen, connects around 150,000 households, as well as businesses, hospitals, and public institutions to their fibre optic network.
• The fresh investment was made by:
  •  ING, a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. Its primary businesses are retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, wholesale banking, private banking, asset management, and insurance services.
  • Kommunalkredit Austria AG that operates as a bank and offers financing, infrastructure advisory, interest management, and investment services. Kommunalkredit Austria serves municipalities, corporates, and retail customers in Austria.
  • SEB, a northern European financial services group headquartered in Stockholm. In Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, and the UK, the bank focuses on corporate and investment banking services for corporate and institutional clients.
• This investment will be used to develop telecommunication infrastructure and improve high-speed internet connectivity for residents and businesses in the Essen region through metrofibre’s fibre operator, ruhrfibre.