Analysys Mason conducted commercial due diligence of Project Obelix on behalf of Vauban Infrastructure Partners, leading to the creation of a JV with Bouygues Telecom

The problem

• In 2021, Bouygues Telecom launched Project Obelix, whose aim is to co-invest in French fibre networks in medium- and low-density areas where infrastructure operators are rolling out open-access monopolistic fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks; this project follows Project Asterix, which had the same objectives for another geographical scope
• Once Obelix co-invests in the FTTH networks, Bouygues Telecom (and potentially other retail operators) will buy rental access from Obelix
• To realise this co-investment, Bouygues Telecom decided to partner with an investment fund

The solution

• Analysys Mason was commissioned by Vauban Infrastructure Partners to conduct buy-side commercial due diligence of Project Obelix
• We reviewed the regulatory context, focusing on French medium- and low-density areas and market trends, as well as the project contract structure
  • in particular, we conducted economic analysis to compare the approaches of co-investment and rental over the FTTH network, to help Vauban Infrastructure Partners optimise its offer
• We reviewed Bouygues Telecom’s inputs and provided our own revenue, opex and capex forecasts
• We focused on infrastructure operators’ roll-out plans and Bouygues Telecom take-up curves (migration from standard broadband to fibre), as well as potential commercialisation to retail operators other than Bouygues Telecom

Figure: Project Obelix scope per infrastructure operator

The result

• At the end of 2021, Bouygues Telecom informed Vauban Infrastructure Partners that it had been selected to create the JV. We provided additional support to close the deal, including Q&A sessions with Bouygues Telecom, a business plan and report update and a contract review
• In February 2022, Bouygues Telecom and Vauban Infrastructure Partners announced the creation of a special-purpose vehicle called SDFAST¹, which will co-invest in 20 million lines over the next five years

¹ Société de Développement de la Fibre Au Service des Territoires