Venturing & Investments
All the latest insight, news and analysis on venturing and investment activity involving BT, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and Vodafone.
Brookfield picks long-time CEO Bruce Flatt as Chair
Canadian investment group selects Flatt as Chair after Mark Carney departs to pursue political ambitions. Flatt says the firm will continue driving current investment strategy, which includes focus on digital infra and energy transition…
Is UK’s AI Action Plan under-powered?
UK government unveils aspirational plan for growing the AI sector, with a partner sought for a new data centre in its first AI Growth Zone, but questions remain about the power capacity to underpin the impending data and AI explosion…
Global Fabric: BT’s ‘biggest bet’ will be ticket to ride AI wave
BT Business CTO Colin Bannon has positioned NaaS proposition Global Fabric as the Group’s route to benefiting from an incoming wave of AI RoI.
Vodafone backs AST SpaceMobile with commercial tie-up
Vodafone put a ring on its relationship with SatCo startup AST SpaceMobile with an exclusive, long-term commercial agreement for offering direct-to-device services.
Telefónica eyes insurtech expansion after Repihogar investment
Group claims contribution to €500,000 funding round for Argentine insurtech player, made through Íope Ventures unit, is part of ongoing investment in fintech space. Operator also seeks to enable commercial synergies between Repihogar and other portfolio businesses. Read more…
Sateliot secures €30m from EIB, defence merits flagged
Funding expected to help Spanish 5G‑IoT SatCo deliver a global LEO network by 2028.
BT exits startup Distributed, two years after £30m bet
Harmeen Mehta-era £30m commitment to BVI-bound software engineering talent-on-demand startup comes to an inauspicious end. DSTBTD’s FY23 financials indicate cash-strapped operation…
Telefónica, Entel, and KKR set to call off Peru fibre deal
Plan to create new Peruvian fibre joint venture taken off the table, after disagreements between the businesses over final conditions of the deal. Move marks another blow to Telefónica’s struggling local operating business. Read more…
stc eyes Spain expansion after Telefónica stake buy approval
Saudi telco gets Spanish government’s blessing to increase Telefónica holding to 9.9%, more than a year after making its entrance as a stakeholder. stc also considering further investment in Spain, and elsewhere in Europe. Read more…
Ex-Ofcom chief Sharon White set to lead CDPQ’s Europe team
Ennobled ex-mandarin escaping mired £12bn UK retailer John Lewis to lead £47bn Europe investment strategy at freshly scandal-enmeshed Canadian pension fund (and Telefónica fibre partner in Brazil). Move comes as investor continues to expand digital infrastructure portfolio…
European telcos to inject more funds in adtech venture Utiq
Digital advertising joint venture between Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone gearing up for financial injection in early-2025, as it begins to take ‘cookieless’ digital advertising mission to new markets…
KKR expands digital infra ambitions with $50bn AI data centre deal
Private equity giant teams up with Energy Capital Partners to accelerate data centre deployment, aiming to back up hyperscalers with AI model tuning. Partnership sees KKR affirm that interest in digital infrastructure is only growing…
Virgin Media O2 sheds further chunk of Cornerstone TowerCo
£180m+ fillip sees VM O2 reach monetisation milestone, with another minority offload, while continuing to consolidate TowerCo financially. Buyer Equitix extends digital infra portfolio, while UK tower landscape continue to shift…