Traditional player in the infrastructure and energy sectors, among others, US private equity firm KKR has been flexing its muscles to become more active in the telecommunications industry, including in Latin America. So far this year, the company, which manages some 190 companies, has announced investments with Telefónica for wholesale fiber optic JVs in Chile and Colombia. The operation in Chile, 60% controlled by KKR, is already in operation. The ON Net Fiber JV reached 713,000 premises passed with fiber in the first nine months of the year.
In Colombia, the companies expect to obtain all approvals for the local JV by the end of the first quarter of 2022. However, KKR is not just venturing into fiber infrastructure just yet. Earlier this month, the company, together with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIC), announced the acquisition of US datacenter real estate investment trust CyrusOne, which is focused on carrier-neutral colocation and peering services. CyrusOne owns a 10% stake in Brazilian firm Odata, one of the most active players in the Latin American datacenter sector. The other 90% of Odata is owned by Brazilian private equity fund Pátria Investimentos. Odata has datacenters in Brazil and Colombia and is also building sites in Chile and Mexico. The company is also seeking opportunities in other markets, such as Peru. KKR made an offer of 10.8bn euros (US$12bn) to buy the entire operation of Telecom Italia, the largest telecom operator in Italy and owner of TIM, Brazil’s third largest mobile operator. KKR is also one of the three shareholders controlling the Spanish operator MásMóvil, together with Cinven and Providence Equity, and it has a 40% stake in Telxius, Telefónica’s infrastructure subsidiary, which is now only focused on submarine cables after selling its towers to American Tower. In comparison with other geographies, KKR still has a relatively small portfolio in Latin America.