Linklaters advised Orange Polska on the establishment of a joint venture with APG to build a fiber-optic network in Poland

Linklaters advised Orange Polska S.A. on the establishment of a FiberCo co-owned (50-50) with the APG fund. The joint venture, called Światłowód Inwestycje sp z.o.o., aims to have an fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) footprint that passes 2.4 million households over the next five years and also will offer wholesale access to the network. 

This transaction values the joint venture at 2,748 million PLN (605 million euros). Completion of the transaction requires final approval by the competition authorities, as well as the contribution of optical fiber assets by Orange Polska to Światłowód Inwestycje, after the regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close by the end of August 2021.

Orange Polska is one of the largest telecommunications service providers in Poland, operating in all segments of the telecommunications market, listed on the WSE.

The Dutch APG group is one of the world's largest independent pension fund management companies.

The Linklaters team featured lawyers from Warsaw, London and Amsterdam offices and was managed by Marcin Schulz, partner; Christopher Quinn, counsel and Piotr Zbyszyński, senior associate from the Warsaw Corporate Practice.

The wider advisory team included: Klaudia Owsianka, Daniel Cousens, Tomasz Zorawski, Jakub Woźniak, Michał Wołangiewicz and Bartosz Kotylak from the Corporate Practice; Adrian Horne, Piotr Hurkała and Katarzyna Lesińska from the Banking and Finance Practice; Tomasz Pleskot and Michał Maruszak from the Energy and Infrastructure Practice; Małgorzata Szwaj, Wojciech Podlasin, Anna Laszczyk and Barbara Wanat from the Antitrust and Foreign Investment Practice; Cezary Wiśniewski and Karol Macias from the Dispute Resolution Practice; Szymon Sieniewicz and Daria Wojciechowska from the TMT/IP Practice; and Jan Jurga from the Tax Practice.