Telefonica created a joint venture called Bluevia Fibra in Spain which will focus on building fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks in rural areas of the country.

The group will retain a 55 per cent stake in the venture via Telefonica Espana (30 per cent) and Telefonica Infra (25 per cent). An investor consortium comprising Credit Agricole Assurances and Vauban Infrastructure Partners is to buy the remaining 45 per cent stake for €1 billion, valuing the joint venture at €2.5 billion.

Regulatory approval is required, with Telefonica tipping the deal to close by the year-end.

Telefonica originally used the Bluevia brand for a global developer platform it launched in 2011, which was apparently abandoned a few years later.

Guillermo Ansaldo, CEO of Telefonica Infra, noted the unit had established FTTH vehicles in Brazil, Germany, and Spain “together with Telefonica’s operating units in each of those countries and in partnership with top tier institutions such as Credit Agricole Assurances [and] Vauban, Allianz and CDPQ respectively”.

Telefonica has also set up independent fibre infrastructure companies in Colombia and Chile in partnership with US investor KKR, with a 40-60 split in each.