The move brings the operator’s fixed and mobile infrastructure under one roof and strengthens its position in Germany’s enterprise market
1&1 AG has agreed to acquire fibre operator 1&1 Versatel GmbH from United Internet in a €1.3 billion intra-group deal. 1&1 AG announced the agreement in an ad-hoc statement, confirming that it will purchase all shares in United Internet Management Holding SE, the sole owner of Düsseldorf-based Versatel.
The supervisory board approved the transaction the same day. Although the headline purchase price is around €1.3 billion, 1&1 said the structure of the deal means there will be no immediate liquidity outflow.
Instead, the consideration will be settled through the offset of existing cash management claims and a flexibly repayable loan from United Internet. Versatel’s existing loan liability of approximately €950 million will also remain in place, backed by a 1&1 guarantee.
The agreement includes an earn-out mechanism that could adjust the final price by up to €300 million in either direction depending on Versatel’s performance between 2027 and 2029, with any adjustment payable in 2030. According to 1&1, an independent external expert has confirmed that the terms are fair and comparable to a third-party transaction.
Business fibre
Versatel brings with it one of Germany’s largest business-focused fibre networks, spanning about 67,000 kilometres and serving more than 350 cities. It also supplies wholesale connectivity to other operators and provides the broadband access, IPTV and VoIP platforms sold under the 1&1 brand.
Versatel’s strategic relevance has grown this year, following new agreements with Westconnect in April and OXG Glasfaser in August. The deal with Westconnect expanded Versatel’s access to regional fibre footprints, enabling it to deliver higher-capacity business connections across additional municipalities.
Its partnership with OXG Glasfaser – the joint venture backed by Telefónica and Allianz – further strengthened its role as a national wholesale supplier by allowing 1&1 and other operators to reach customers served by OXG’s rapidly expanding FTTH network.
Crucially, Versatel is the most important infrastructure partner for the rollout of the 1&1 mobile network, delivering fibre backhaul and hosting the company’s data-centre footprint, which comprises four core facilities, 24 edge sites and over 300 far-edge locations.
The deal demonstrates that Germany’s fibre landscape continues to shift, and comes nearly three years after BT sold its German city-fibre assets to Versatel in 2023. By internalising Versatel’s infrastructure, 1&1 aims to reduce its dependence on third-party networks, improve long-term free cash flow and build a stronger integrated fixed-mobile platform with a reinforced B2B segment.
1&1 said the acquisition provides the foundations for its fixed-line, mobile and enterprise operations, describing Versatel as essential to its network expansion plans.
