- This is the sixth loan granted to iliad SA by the European Investment Bank, bringing the total amount of EIB financing of France's leading alternative fiber operator to more than €1.4 billion.
- It will enable iliad to accelerate the rollout of ultra-fast broadband in France, including in less dense and rural areas and improve the energy efficiency of digital services.
- It strengthens digital transformation, competitiveness and innovation across the French regions and supports both French and European connectivity objectives, which aim to provide every household with access to ultra-fast broadband by 2025.
With this new loan, which brings the total amount of financing provided to iliad SA to more than €1.4 billion since 2009, the EIB is renewing its support for the Group in financing its fiber networks and assisting in the rollout of its latest generation mobile networks. This latest financial commitment follows an inaugural loan of PLN 470 million granted to Play in January 2022 to strengthen its ultra-fast mobile network.
Network expansion remains a key priority for iliad. Each year in France, the Group invests an average of more than 30% of its revenues in this area, representing a cumulative amount of more than €7.6 billion over the last five years.
With this agreement, the iliad Group, now Europe's sixth-largest mobile operator with more than 45 million subscribers, has strengthened its position as France's leading alternative fiber operator. With more than 3,800 employees working purely on fiber in France, the Group is a committed operator, working every day to support regional development and install optical fiber in homes, including in less densely populated and rural areas through Public Initiative Networks (PINs). Thanks to its investments, the Group now has 7 million fixed-line subscribers in France, including more than 4.5 million Fiber subscribers and more than 30 million connectible sockets.
"We are delighted about this new partnership with the EIB, which will enable us to pursue our ambitious rollout and densification objectives for our fixed networks in France. This financing operation, the sixth loan granted to iliad SA since 2009, confirms the quality of the long-standing relationship between our Groups in France, and also in Poland via our subsidiary Play since the beginning of 2022. Providing the best connectivity for as many people as possible is a major challenge for society and key to ensuring regional competitiveness. Increasing access to fiber is also the best way to aim for more energy-efficient digital services," said Thomas Reynaud, CEO of iliad Group.
"With this new loan, the EIB is renewing its support for a very loyal partner that has established itself as a leading player in the rollout of fixed and mobile networks across France and Europe," said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. "This new investment will enable this European champion to accelerate its rollout of fiber and strengthen connectivity infrastructure, which has become just as essential as water and electricity supply networks. Supporting innovation has never been a greater priority for us, and improving access to ultra-fast broadband is essential to ensuring that our regions remain competitive and attractive to both businesses and local communities. As a public bank providing long-term financing for major European projects, it is our role to make an active contribution in this area."
The EIB's triple-A rating means that this loan comes with very attractive financial terms and a long maturity of up to six years, which is particularly suited to the length and nature of the investments. As the long-standing bank for financing infrastructure in the European Union, one of the EIB's priorities is to invest in innovation and the digitization of the economy, in line with the European objective of improving ultra-fast connectivity for businesses and individuals.
About the iliad Group
Created in the early 1990s, the iliad Group is the inventor of the world’s first triple-play box and has grown into a major European telecoms player, standing out for its innovative, straightforward and attractive offerings. The Group is the parent of Free in France, iliad in Italy and Play in Poland, has over 16,500 employees serving 45.3 million active subscribers, and generated €7.6 billion in pro forma revenues in 2021. In France, the Group is an integrated Fixed and Mobile Ultra-Fast Broadband operator and had 21.2 million retail subscribers at September 30, 2022 (14.0 million mobile subscribers and 7.1 million fixed subscribers). In Italy – where the Group launched its business in 2018 under the iliad brand, becoming the country’s fourth mobile operator – it had over 9.3 million subscribers at end-September 2022. With the acquisition of the Polish mobile operator, Play, in November 2020, the iliad Group became Europe’s sixth-largest mobile operator by number of subscribers (excluding M2M). And its acquisition of UPC Polska – which closed on April 1, 2022 – has made the Group a convergence leader in Poland.