(Reuters) -Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC will acquire a 25% stake in a Spanish fibre optic broadband venture between MasOrange and Vodafone Spain, the three companies said on Monday, helping GIC to boost its presence in a key European telecom market.
After GIC’s investment, MasOrange, partly owned by France’s Orange, will hold 58% of the firm, while Vodafone Spain, owned by Britain’s Zegona Communications, will own 17%.
The companies did not say how much GIC would pay for the stake.
Singaporean state funds have been expanding in Europe with investments in infrastructure, renewables and luxury fashion brands, to take advantage of comparatively cheaper and more attractive valuations of European firms amid a stronger euro and rising U.S. tariffs.
Singapore’s state investor Temasek invested over S$10 billion ($7.8 billion) in Europe in the year ended March 2025. In late July, the company said it would raise its stake in Italian luxury fashion house Ermenegildo Zegna to 10%.
Vodafone Spain, acquired by Zegona in a 5 billion euro ($5.79 billion) deal last year, will make 1.4 billion euros in proceeds from the venture, Zegona said in a separate statement.
MasOrange will get 3.2 billion euros. The company is 50% owned by Orange, with private equity funds KKR, Cinven and Providence holding the remainder.
Zegona shares were up 2.3% in London trading, after earlier rising as much as 3.9% to hover near its record high of 905 pence.
The deal comes after Vodafone Spain agreed in January to create the new fibre network company in Spain with MasOrange.
The parties at the time were also looking for an investor that would hold 40% of the new venture.
GIC, which reported its slowest pace of investment return growth in five years in July, said it continued to seek long-term opportunities, particularly in the infrastructure sector.
The Financial Times first reported on GIC taking a stake in the joint venture earlier on Monday.
($1 = 0.8647 euros)
($1 = 1.2873 Singapore dollars)
(Reporting by Angela Christy, Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru, Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore and Inti Landauro in Madrid; Editing by Tom Hogue, Jamie Freed and Bernadette Baum)
