euNetworks, a Western European bandwidth infrastructure company, closed on a €2.1 billion equity recapitalization. Investors in the recap included a Stonepeak managed vehicle anchored by Mercer and Aware Super and direct investments from the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) and APG Asset Management. The equity commitments follow the company’s recent debt refinancing announced in June and together will further euNetworks’ momentum as the company continues to scale and execute against its strategic priorities.
“Our successful debt refinancing and equity recapitalization underscores the robust value proposition and fundamental infrastructure delivered by euNetworks. We’ve had a fantastic partnership with Stonepeak and IMCO since 2018 along with our other investors, and we extend our gratitude to them for their unwavering support,” Kevin Dean, interim chief executive of euNetworks, said. “The combination of Stonepeak, IMCO, APG, Mercer and Aware Super coming together as the new euNetworks represents a very strong opportunity for our customers, our people, our partners and the communities in which we operate. We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved and are excited for the future, continuing to construct and deliver Europe’s future critical infrastructure with our customers and our long-term committed investors.”
“Since 2018, we have partnered with an industry-leading platform in euNetworks, which is leading the way in sustainably developing the next generation of essential bandwidth infrastructure in Europe,” Cyrus Gentry, managing director at Stonepeak, said. “We’d like to thank the entire management team for their significant contributions during this period — particularly Brady Rafuse and Paula Cogan, who have led the business through many phases of its evolution. We look forward to stewarding the next chapter of euNetworks’ growth alongside our new partners.”
“We are impressed by euNetworks’ focus on sustainable growth and providing high quality connectivity solutions to its customers on a pan-European level,” Arjan Reinders, head of infrastructure Europe at APG, said. “We are thrilled to be entering into this partnership, on behalf of our pension fund client ABP and Asset Owner Partners, and we are eager to work closely with the euNetworks team as they continue to develop and further their strategic vision.”
“As an investor in euNetworks since 2018, we take great pride in contributing to its growth and working with its high caliber management team to help the company achieve a market leading position in Europe,” Matthew Mendes, managing director, head of infrastructure at IMCO, said. “Alongside our co-shareholders, we look forward to continuing our partnership with euNetworks as they focus on building the next generation of bandwidth network in Europe, connecting more data centers and key sites with fibre, and leading the industry in sustainability practices.”
“euNetworks’ market-leading characteristics have contributed to its historical growth and we’re excited to partner with our co-shareholders to empower the euNetworks team to capture the strong industry tailwinds arising out of the acceleration in AI innovation and adoption,” Mark Hector, head of infrastructure at Aware Super, said. “This is also a strong opportunity for us to further diversify our global digital infrastructure holdings into Europe.”
J.P. Morgan acted as sole financial advisor to euNetworks. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Campbell Lutyens acted respectively as legal counsel and financial advisor to Stonepeak. UBS and Baker McKenzie acted respectively as financial and legal advisors to APG. Gowling WLG acted as legal counsel to IMCO.
