MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish telecom giant Telefonica (MC:TEF) is readying an alliance with the private equity arm of German insurer Allianz (DE:ALVG) to finance a 5 billion euro (4.53 billion pounds) infrastructure investment in Germany, Spanish newspaper Expansion said on Monday.
Telefonica and Allianz aim to create a joint venture half-owned by each that would invest into a fibre-optic network in Germany, the newspaper said, citing unidentified financial sources.
Reuters had reported last week that Telefonica was in the final stages of negotiating a deal with banks and an unidentified investor to build the fibre-optic network to supply under-served areas of Germany.
A spokesman at Telefonica declined to comment and a spokeswoman at Allianz was not immediately available.