Clifford Chance and Latham and Watkins are advising on a major German broadband deal, which could lead to the creation of a new player in the European telecommunications market.

Global investment firm KKR and Dutch investor Reggeborgh are selling Deutsche Glasfaser, a German provider of fibre optic networks, to EQT, a Swedish private equity company, and  Canadian pension fund OMERS. The deal has been reportedly valued at more than €2.5 billion.

EQT and OMERS plan to combine Deutsche Glasfaser with rival Inexio, which EQT bought last year, in order to form a major player in rural Germany.

Clifford Chance is advising KKR and Reggeborgh on the deal. The Magic Circle firm has fielded a team led by partner duo Munich-based Marlus Muhs and Frankfurt-based Frederik Mühl, and including Munich partner Barbara Mayer-Trautmann, and Duesseldorf partners Joachim Schütze and Mathias Elspaß.

Muhs told Law.com International: "This deal creates a major player in the German market, a player that will have to be taken seriously by Deutsche Telekom [the German-based dominant telecommunications provider in Europe]."

Latham Watkins, led by partners Rainer Traugott and Nils Röver, is advising EQT and OMERS.

A Clifford Chance team recently advised Deutsche Glasfaser, which was founded in 2011, on its €1.8 billion refinancing, according to the firm.