Danish utility company Verdo has left domestic consortium Waoo!, following Stofa’s acquisition of 25% of its share capital. The deal will see Stofa take control of the operation of Verdo Tele’s fibre-optic network in Rangers and Hobro from mid-2015. Stofa will also replace Waoo! as the main content provider for Verdo’s 11,000 subscribers from the beginning of 2016.
For its part, Waoo! announced that Verdo CEO Kim Frimer is stepping down as chairman of the board of Waoo!’s directors. Further, the company revealed that it was in discussions with several potential partners for a strategic alliance, but ‘Verdo did not have the necessary patience to wait for the conclusion of the process.’
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Waoo! was effectively formed through the merger of Smile Content, Profiber and Dansk Bredband in September 2010. The company was established in its current form later that year in order to manage the fibre access networks of 15 of Denmark’s largest energy companies under a single brand identity. The number of the participating utility companies subsequently dropped to eleven – NEF, Energi Fyn, Sydfyns Elforsyning, Bredband Nord, FIBIA Vest, AURA Fiber, EnergiMidt, TREFOR, FIBIA Ost, and TDC Fibernet; combined, their networks passed more than a third of Danish households, which equated to around one million at mid-2014.