29-30 January 2025 / Convene 133 Houndsditch / London
Agenda
TMT Finance Editorial View – Transactions Outlook for 2025
Speaker
Stephanie Harris, EMEA Editor, TMT Finance
TMT Leaders: Assessing Growth Horizons, Deal Structures and Investment Strategies
Moderator
Tom Levine, Partner, A&O Shearman
Speakers
Keri Gilder, CEO, Colt
Leaders across the TMT space will discuss how operators and investors have adjusted to the lack of capital available, who will be the winners and losers under the current macro environment, innovative financing vehicles to fuel growth, the shakeout in EMEA datacentres and UK fibre, and an everchanging regulatory landscape across digital infrastructure.
Digital Infrastructure M&A: Navigating Headwinds & Examining Transaction Volumes in 2025
Moderator
Anne Chitan, Global Co-Head of Communications & Partner, CMS
Speakers
Jim Ryan, SVP & CSO, Liberty Global
Jennifer Smith, CFO, Zayo Europe
Oliver Bradley, Senior Managing Director, Macquarie Capital
Leaders across digital infrastructure discuss the most critical issues currently facing the sector, including how the next wave of transactions will shape up, growth strategies, subsector opportunities and evolving deal structures.
-
Chair
-
Speaker
-
Speaker
-
Speaker
-
Speaker
Datacentre Leaders: Investment Growth, Access to Capital, and Navigating the AI Era
Moderator
Ulrich Loewer, Partner, EY-Parthenon
Speakers
Dame Dawn Childs, CEO, Pure Data Centres Group
Chester Reid, CFO, Yondr Group
Claire Vandromme, CFO, Data4 Group
Nick Haslehurst, EMEA CFO, Vantage Data Centers
Leaders from datacentre investment and operators highlight the implications that valuation mismatches are having on dealmaking processes, the influence AI has had on investment growth, the increasing importance of sustainability and strategic positioning initiatives for investment and M&A.
Visionary Keynote Speech - Powering the Future: Mastering the Dynamics Between Energy and Digital Infrastructure
Speaker
Jan Weismüller, Global Head of Infrastructure and Transportation Finance, LBBW
France Fibre Leaders: What is the Investment & M&A Landscape in the Final Phase of Deployment?
Speakers
Zeynep Lucchini Gilera, Investment Director, Infravia Capital Partners
Lionel Recorbet, CEO, XP Fibre
France is set to register the fastest CAGR over the next decade and is considered the safest for investment in European fibre. Speakers will highlight the continued robust investment activity, strategic M&A and divestments, and favorable regulatory environment.
What is the Next Phase of Growth Across Connectivity?
Speakers
Neil McRae, Chief Network Strategist, Juniper Networks
Lee Myall, CEO, Neos Networks
Martin Lippert, Group CEO, GlobalConnect
Wireless connectivity operators and investors will determine the next phase of growth across fibre, towers, DCs, network solutions, smart cities, small cells, 5G, DAS, and edge computing. How will RAN-Sharing develop throughout 2025 and who will lead this?
Financing TMT: Navigating the Cost of Debt, Mismatched Valuations & Capital Constraints
Speakers
Jennifer Smith, CFO, Zayo Europe
TMT financing pathfinders will address the repercussions of the cost of debt and capital constraints, exploring whether these increased costs will be passed on to customers, examining the impacts on the market, and assessing how sponsors are striking a balance between the speed of capital deployment and financial discipline.
Germany Fibre Leaders: Examining the Buildout, Customer Acquistion & How Capital Availability Has Impacted Growth
Moderator
Sören Grabowski, Partner, EY-Parthenon
Speakers
Gerhard Mack, Chairman of the Board, metrofibre
Andrea Kraus, CCO and Board Member, Eurofiber
Government support has led to a significant amount of FTTH build in Germany since 2022. However many operators have started to have difficulties with customer take up, with altnets being forced to scale back their build plans and focus capital on customer acquisition. How is the market set to shake out in 2025? Panelists will also discuss the expansion of the open access model in Germany to increase nationwide fibre expansion.
Exploring the Utilisation of Alternative Financing Structures To Fuel Growth
Speakers
Thibault Sauvage, Senior Director, Infrastructure Financing, CDPQ
Natalia Tsitoura, Partner, Capital Solutions, Apollo
2024 saw alternative financing structures being introduced into the EMEA datacenter space, including the first ABS, several YieldCos and an expansion of JVs with relationships between both investors and hyperscalers developing for operators. In what cases are these structures being implemented, what factors are behind their introductions, and what challenges and opportunities do they create?
Satellites - The Next Digital Infrastructure Frontier?
Speakers
Jean-Hubert Lenotte, CSO, Eutelsat
Martijn Blanken, CEO, Neo Space Group (NSG)
Satellite development has been steadily increasing over the last decade. Satellite R&D is expansive, Direct to Device (D2D) continues to develop as an area of interest for telcos, strategic investment is growing and 2024 saw the acquisition of Intelsat by SES. Will satellites become the next frontier for digital infrastructure investment?
Spain Fibre Leaders: Post-Buildout Market Dynamics, M&A, and What Can Be Learnt from Overbuild?
Speakers
Victor Pons Mesman, CFO, Lyntia Networks
Jose Antonio Vazquez Blanco, CEO, Onivia
The fibre buildout in Spain has exploded over the last decade because of the low costs and government support. With the market now fully built out, how will dynamics between the incumbents and the altnets develop? How will the Orange-MASMOVIL merger change competition in the country? What can UK players learn from the development of the Spanish market?
Edge Vs Hyperscalers: Where are the Investment & Deal Opportunities?
Moderator
Charles Murray, Partner, Analysys Mason
Speakers
Tesh Durvasula, CEO, AtlasEdge
What Impact is AI Having on Value & Growth in Enterprise Cloud & Managed Services?
Speakers
Daan De Wever, Group CEO, Dstny
Andrew Belshaw, CEO, Gamma Communications
Shaping the Future - Leveraging Efforts of Multiple Stakeholders in the Energy and Digital Transformation
Moderator
Christian Felix Munz, Global Sector Coverage Infrastructure Funds, LBBW
Speakers
Thomas Jürgenschellert, Strategic Management and Sustainable Corporate Governance Lecturer, Steinbeis Hochschule
As AI applications drive evolving workload demands, there's a critical assessment of the impact on data center infrastructure. Speakers will focus on the capture and transmission of energy, the imperative for sustainable power generation and consumption and exploring the pressing need for scalable and efficient infrastructure to accommodate AI-driven workloads.
UK Fibre Leaders: Is the Next Wave of M&A Finally Here?
Moderator
Richard Morgan, Partner, Analysys Mason
Speakers
Jeremy Chelot, CEO, Netomnia
Greg Mesch, CEO, CityFibre
Richard Allwood, CSTO, Openreach
With a number of strategic and distressed consolidations having taken place in 2024, and new players emerging into the market, such as the VMO2 NetCo, how will the next wave of M&A play out in 2025? What can investors and altnets learn from the current environment as they look towards the next phase of growth across UK fibre?