Milbank Advises EQT and OMERS on Financial Recapitalization of Deutsche Glasfaser

Milbank LLP advised EQT and OMERS as sponsors of Deutsche Glasfaser Group GmbH and its subsidiaries ("Deutsche Glasfaser") on the comprehensive financial recapitalization of Deutsche Glasfaser implemented by way of an English law scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the UK Companies Act 2006 and sanctioned by the English High Court on June 19, 2026. The recapitalization comprises a new equity contribution by the sponsors of €845 million, the provision of €400 million new money by the existing lenders and the reinstatement and re-tranching of the group's existing €6.94 billion senior debt into senior facilities at the OpCo level and a HoldCo facility at the level above the group.

Deutsche Glasfaser is one of Germany's leading fiber-optic infrastructure platforms, specializing in rural and suburban regions, and is the second-largest independent fiber-optic provider in Germany. The group plans, builds, owns and operates fiber-optic networks for private households, businesses and public institutions throughout Germany.

As part of the comprehensive recapitalization, the sponsors contributed €845 million of new equity to Deutsche Glasfaser. In parallel, existing senior lenders provide a new €400 million super senior term facility and the liabilities under the group's existing senior facilities and the European Investment Bank facility – aggregating approximately €6.94 billion – are bifurcated into approximately €5.4 billion of reinstated, structurally senior OpCo debt and approximately €1.7 billion of debt hived up into a newly established, structurally subordinated holding-company debt instrument.

Through the recapitalization, EQT and OMERS reaffirm their commitment to Deutsche Glasfaser and stabilize the group's capital structure, securing its financing into the mid-2030s and through the completion of its large-scale network roll-out and providing a stable platform for the group’s continued transformation into a customer-focused broadband provider and the further expansion of fiber-optic infrastructure across rural and suburban Germany.

The Milbank team that advised EQT and OMERS on the financial recapitalization was led by partners Marlene Ruf (Financial Restructuring, Munich), Mathias Eisen (Financial Restructuring, Frankfurt) and Markus Muhs (Corporate, Munich) and included partners Barbara Mayer-Trautmann (Finance, Munich), Jonathan Toffolo (Finance, London) and Thomas Kleinheisterkamp (Tax, Munich), special counsel Robert Kastl (Financial Restructuring, Frankfurt), Nico Feuerstein and David Schwenneker (both Corporate, Munich) and associates Alexander Theisen (Financial Restructuring, Frankfurt), Sebastian Mayr, Florian Weustenfeld (both Financial Restructuring, Munich), Hendrik Gäbler (Corporate, Frankfurt), Robin Braun (Finance, Frankfurt), Leopold Oesterheld (Corporate, Munich), Rhodri Lewis, Dhruv Kaushal, Elliot Francis (all Finance, London) and Christoph Wolf (Tax, Munich).