CapMan Infra’s portfolio company Valokuitunen Oy will invest up to €300 million in fibre networks in Finland
Finland will benefit from more high-speed fixed line connections as Valokuitunen Oy begins rolling out fibre-to-the-home networks in Finnish growth centres and surrounding areas. Valokuitunen, a joint venture between CapMan Infra and Telia Company, is the first company to deploy fibre networks to residential suburban neighbourhoods on a national scale. The company plans to improve digital infrastructure across the nation by rolling-out fibre to as many as potentially 200,000 households, by investing €200-300 million in the coming years.
By 2030, the amount of data transferred by networks is expected to have grown 150-fold compared to today’s levels. According to statistics from Traficom (Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communication), only approx. 8 per cent of fixed network connections in Finland use fibre optics and connectivity in residential neighbourhoods with small-scale detached housing is significantly less developed compared to urban neighbourhoods. Finland is lagging international peers in connectivity objectives, and while Finland is looking to establish 100 MB connections to all citizens by 2025, Sweden’s connectivity objectives are ten-fold at 1 GB.
“The digital infrastructure strategy established by the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communication states that Finland intends to become a leading country in terms of information networks. In order to reach this objective, we need fibre networks to reach all the way to people’s homes. As evidenced by the exceptional situation we currently experience, society requires fast and reliable network connections in order to function. With more and more appliances connected to the internet and the amount of data transferred growing exponentially, this need is becoming more apparent,” says Juha-Pekka Weckström, Chairperson of the Board at Valokuitunen Oy.
Valokuitunen Oy, a joint venture between CapMan Infra and Telia Company launched today, is focused on rolling-out fibre networks in growth centres and surrounding areas in Finland. The joint venture has acquired Telia Finland’s existing Avoin Kuitu fibre business and assets, which currently provides network access to approximately 20,000 households around Helsinki, Turku and Tampere.
The new company plans to invest a total of €200-300 million in the establishment of new fibre networks. This would increase Valokuitunen’s current network ten-fold and enable high-speed internet access for up to 200,000 households.
“Valokuitunen is the first company to invest in fibre on a significant national scale. We need more fibre network connections in Finland in order for everyone to be able to study, run a business, work remotely and conduct everyday activities, as fibre is the only option that provides almost unlimited data transfer capacity also in the future,” says Sanna Mutka, Managing Director of Valokuitunen Oy.
This year, Valokuitunen is building new networks in Turku, Uusimaa, and Helsinki metropolitan regions. The company is also gauging household interest in obtaining fibre connections in other growth regions in Finland.
For additional information, please contact:
Harri Halonen, Partner, CapMan Infra, +46 768 71 0062
Sanna Mutka, Managing Director of Valokuitunen Oy tel. +358 50 327 6052
About Valokuitunen Oy
- Offers fibre-to-the-home in in suburban areas
- Will operate and maintain Telia Finland’s former fibre network business (Avoin Kuitu) in 12 municipalities including 20,000 households
- Owners are CapMan Infra (60%) and Telia Company (40%). CapMan is a leading Nordic private assets fund manager and a Finnish public company. CapMan Nordic Infrastructure I Fund was established in 2018 and its investors include, among others, Mutual Pension Insurance Company Ilmarinen, The City of Espoo, The Church Pension Fund and Tradeka
- Learn more about Valokuitunen and register interest for a connection at www.valokuitunen.fi
About CapMan
CapMan is a leading Nordic private asset expert with an active approach to value creation. We offer a wide selection of investment products and services. As one of the Nordic private equity pioneers, we have developed hundreds of companies and real estate assets and created substantial value in these businesses and assets over the past 30 years. With over €3 billion in assets under management, our objective is to provide attractive returns and innovative solutions to investors. We have a broad presence in the unlisted market through our local and specialised teams. Our investment strategies cover Private Equity, Real Estate and Infra. We also have a growing service business that includes procurement services, fundraising advisory, and analysis, reporting and wealth management services. Altogether, CapMan employs 150 people in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, London and Luxembourg. We are a public company listed on Nasdaq Helsinki since 2001 and a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) since 2012. More information at www.capman.com.
