Deutsche Glasfaser completes refinancing as CEO Andreas Pfisterer steps down
July 1, 2026 23.55 Europe/London By Jörn Krieger

Deutsche Glasfaser has completed its refinancing after receiving confirmation from the relevant London High Court, securing funding through to the mid-2030s and positioning itself for the next phase of its development.

The German fibre network operator also announced a series of management changes, including the departure of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andreas Pfisterer.

Deutsche Glasfasser confirmed that the refinancing gives it long-term financial security and enables it to shift its focus from network deployment towards becoming a more customer-centric broadband operator. According to the company, the strengthened capital structure differentiates Deutsche Glasfaser from most other alternative fibre network builders in Germany.

As part of the transition, Pfisterer will leave the company during the summer following a handover period. Deutsche Glasfaser noted that the decision was reached jointly by the shareholders and the CEO as the company moves from a restructuring and transformation phase into a new stage of growth.

Gerhard Mack joined as Chief Operating Officer in April and Dietmar Pöltl became Chief Rollout & Activation Officer in May. Both appointments are intended to support the company’s transformation, with a greater emphasis on customer experience and scaling customer activation. The Chief Financial Officer role is also expected to be filled later this year following the refinancing.

Until a permanent successor is appointed, telecommunications executive Jens Schulte-Bockum will oversee the company’s transformation efforts as Executive Chairman of the Advisory Committee. Schulte-Bockum, who has served on Deutsche Glasfaser’s advisory board since 2020, succeeded Eric Elzvik as Chairman of the Advisory Committee on 1 July. He previously served as CEO of Vodafone Deutschland and Group COO of MTN Group.

“I thank all employees, the management team, our customers, partners and shareholders for their trust and excellent cooperation over the past years. Together, we have guided Deutsche Glasfaser through a highly challenging market environment and created a strong foundation for the company’s future development through the successful refinancing,” said Pfisterer.

Schulte-Bockum added: “With network coverage for more than three million rural and suburban households and its regional and national open-access partnerships, Deutsche Glasfaser is one of the key enablers of Germany’s digitisation. The company will complete its remaining rollout projects over the coming years and focus entirely on providing the best possible service to customers within its network footprint.”

According to Schulte-Bockum, the secured financing will enable Deutsche Glasfaser to continue investing several hundred million euros annually in customer connections and customer service.

Matthias Fackler, Head of Infrastructure Advisory Team Europe at EQT, and Timm Degenhardt, Managing Director at OMERS, highlighted that the refinancing leaves Deutsche Glasfaser fully funded and able to focus on its strategic transformation into a customer-oriented broadband provider.

According to the shareholders, Deutsche Glasfaser’s active customer base increased by 52% to 985,000 during Pfisterer’s tenure, while more than one million additional households were connected to the network footprint. Revenue and EBITDA both recorded double-digit annual growth rates, and the company concluded wholesale agreements with partners including Vodafone and 1&1.

Deutsche Glasfaser, backed by infrastructure investors EQT and OMERS, focuses on fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) deployments in rural and suburban areas of Germany and reports access to more than €11 billion in committed investment capital.