AXA IM Alts and Generali Global Infrastructure are among five lenders providing a €5.75bn credit facility to German fibre-optic infrastructure provider Deutsche Glasfaser.

Germany’s Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), Austrian infrastructure specialist lender Kommunalkredit and the National Australia Bank (NAB) were also involved.

The financing includes a €3bn term loan, a €2.5bn capex facilty and a €250m revolving credit facility. The lenders also set the prospect of an additional €1.5bn credit line.

The financing was oversubscribed due to high demand from banks and institutional debt investors, according to Jens Müller, chief financial officer at Deutsche Glasfaser.

Deutsche Glasfaser will use the loan to finance the €7bn rollout of fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connections and refinance existing debt.

The company plans to reach four million, or 10% of households in Germany, with fibre by 2025, up from to 1.2 million covered today.

The interest on the loan is linked to the achievement of ESG goals, including the reduction of carbon emissions in line with targets set in the Paris Agreement, and a commitment to reduce digital inequality in underserved areas.

Crédit Agricole bank and ING coordinated the refinancing as joint financial and sustainability advisers.

EQT and OMERS Infrastructure bought Deutsche Glasfaser from KKR Infrastructure and Reggeborgh last year and merged the company with fibre-network provider Inexio.

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