SoftBank Group Valuation Multiples

SpaceX is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company founded in 2002 by Elon Musk and incorporated in Texas, alongside launch and manufacturing sites in Hawthorne, California, Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Vandenberg Space Force Base. The company designs, builds, and operates the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, the Dragon crew and cargo spacecraft, and the fully reusable Starship vehicle, and has accounted for the large majority of global mass launched to orbit in recent years on the strength of reusable-rocket economics and a high launch cadence. Its Starlink division operates a low-Earth-orbit satellite constellation delivering broadband internet to more than ten million subscribers across roughly 160 countries, while the Starshield program supplies satellite and connectivity services to government and defense customers. In February 2026 SpaceX combined with Musk's artificial intelligence firm xAI, the developer of the Grok chatbot, which had itself absorbed the social platform X, consolidating space, connectivity, and AI operations under common ownership. The company completed an initial public offering on June 12, 2026, one of the largest in market history, and is led by Musk as CEO.

China Mobile is not only the largest telecom operator in China by the number of mobile subscribers (1 billion) but also the largest in the world. It has 60% of the total wireless market in China and over 50% of the fixed-line broadband market. The firm has largely rolled out its 5G network, having launched 5G service in late 2019. It is doing some 5G network sharing with China Broadnet at 700 MHz and also resells its 3G/4G/5G network through China Broadnet. Growth is being generated through internet data centers where it has the second-largest network in China and through Cloud Services. The company issued stock on the A-share market in 2022 and completed its first buyback of H-shares.

Wireless services account for 75% of Verizon Communications' total service revenue and nearly all of its operating income. The firm serves about 94 million postpaid and 20 million prepaid phone customers via its nationwide network, making it the largest US wireless carrier. Fixed-line telecom operations include local networks in the Northeast that reach about 30 million homes and businesses, including about 20 million served by the Fios fiber-optic network. Verizon closed its acquisition of Frontier Communications in January, adding networks that reach another 15 million locations, including 9 million with fiber. These networks serve about 11 million broadband customers. Verizon also provides telecom services nationwide to enterprise customers, using a mix of its own and other networks.

BlackRock is an American investment management company headquartered at 50 Hudson Yards in New York City and the largest asset manager in the world, with $15.3 trillion of assets under management as of 2026. It runs index and active funds, the iShares exchange-traded fund range, alternatives including infrastructure and private credit, and retirement assets for institutional and individual clients in 100 countries, and it licenses its Aladdin investment and risk management technology to more than 1,000 institutional clients. BlackRock was founded in 1988 by Larry Fink, Robert Kapito, Susan Wagner and colleagues as a fixed income and risk management manager, and Fink remains chairman and chief executive. It grew through acquisitions including Merrill Lynch Investment Managers in 2006 and Barclays Global Investors, owner of iShares, for $13.5 billion in 2009, followed by Global Infrastructure Partners for $12.5 billion, announced in January 2024, and private credit manager HPS Investment Partners for about $12 billion, agreed in December 2024. The company reported revenue of $24.22 billion and net income of $5.553 billion in 2025. Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange and it is a component of the S&P 500.

Deutsche Telekom merged its T-Mobile USA unit with prepaid specialist MetroPCS in 2013, and that firm merged with Sprint in 2020, creating the second-largest wireless carrier in the US. T-Mobile now serves 86 million postpaid and 26 million prepaid phone customers, equal to around 30% of the US retail wireless market. The firm entered the fixed-wireless broadband market aggressively in 2021 and now serves 8 million residential and business customers with its wireless network. It also serves 1 million fiber broadband customers through joint ventures with fiber network owners. T-Mobile owns a stake in these firms, which provide wholesale access to their networks. In addition, T-Mobile provides wholesale services to wireless resellers.

The wireless business contributes nearly 70% of AT&T’s revenue. The company is the third-largest US wireless carrier, connecting 74 million postpaid and 17 million prepaid phone customers. Fixed-line enterprise services, which account for about 14% of revenue, include internet access, private networking, security, voice, and wholesale network capacity. Residential services, about 11% of revenue, primarily consist of in-home broadband internet access, serving 15 million customers. AT&T also has a sizable presence in Mexico, with 25 million wireless customers, but this business only accounts for 3% of revenue. The company recently sold its 70% equity stake in satellite television provider DirecTV to its partner, private equity firm TPG.

Deutsche Telekom is a Bonn-headquartered telecommunications group formed in 1995 from Germany’s former federal postal and telecom administration. It provides mobile and fixed connectivity, broadband, enterprise ICT, cloud and digital services across Europe and the United States. Revenue comes from subscriptions, usage, equipment sales, wholesale access and technology services. The group serves consumers, businesses, carriers and public-sector organizations through brands including Telekom, T-Mobile and regional subsidiaries. Deutsche Telekom was already OTE’s strategic shareholder when it exercised its right of first refusal over HRADF’s 5% stake in 2018. The purchase was a secondary increase in an existing strategic holding rather than a new primary financing.

Investor AB is an industrial holding company with a long-term, active investment portfolio plan. The operations are divided into three business areas: Listed Companies, Patricia Industries, and Investments in EQT. Geographically, the company operates in Sweden, Europe, U.S, and Other countries.

Bharti Airtel Ltd is a telecommunications company. The company's segments include Mobile Services India, Mobile Services Africa, Mobile Services South Asia, Airtel Business, Passive Infrastructure Services, Homes Services, Digital TV Services, and others. It generates maximum revenue from the Mobile Services India segment. Mobile Services India services cover voice and data telecom services provided through wireless technology (2G /3G/4G) in India. It includes the captive national long-distance networks, which provide connectivity to the mobile services business in India. It also includes intra-city fibre networks.

Blackstone is the world's largest alternative-asset manager with $1.346 trillion in total assets under management, including $961.6 billion in fee-earning assets under management, at the end of June 2026. The company operates with scale in each of its major product lines: private equity (28% of fee-earning AUM and 35% of base management fees), real estate/real assets (29% and 32%), credit and insurance (33% and 25%), and other alternatives (10% and 8%). While the firm primarily serves institutional investors (84% of AUM), it also caters to clients in the high-net-worth channel (16%). Blackstone operates through 25 offices in the Americas (8), Europe and the Middle East (9), and the Asia-Pacific region (8).

NTT Group is the Japanese telecommunications and information technology group led by NTT, Inc., a holding company headquartered in Otemachi, Chiyoda, Tokyo and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company traces its origins to Japan's state telegraph service; the government-owned Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation was set up in 1952, privatised on 1 April 1985 as Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, and renamed NTT, Inc. on 1 July 2025. Its main subsidiaries are mobile operator NTT Docomo, which also sells broadband; NTT East and NTT West, the regional fixed-line and fibre-to-the-home operators; NTT Data, which provides system integration, IT consulting, cloud and managed services, cybersecurity and data centre infrastructure worldwide; plus NTT Urban Solutions and NTT Anode Energy. It serves consumers, businesses and public bodies, earning recurring fees for mobile and fixed communications services and project and service fees from its IT business. In fiscal 2025 (the year to March 2026) it reported revenue of ¥14.41 trillion and net income of ¥1.04 trillion, with about 347,700 employees, and it ranks among the world's largest telecommunications companies by revenue. Japan's Minister of Finance holds 34.25% of the shares. Akira Shimada is president and chief executive and Jun Sawada is chairman.

China Telecom is the largest fixed-line operator in China, originally covering 21 southern provinces but now operating nationally. It has 200 million broadband customers, and 437 million wireless subscribers, having overtaken China Unicom to become the second-largest wireless operator in China behind China Mobile. The firm is increasing its cross-selling of products and seeing strong growth from industrial digitization services, such as internet data centers and cloud computing. Its internet data center business is already the largest in China and it is expanding overseas.

Brookfield Corp is an investment firm focused on building long-term wealth for institutions and individuals, operating through seven segments: Asset Management, Wealth Solutions, Renewable Power and Transition, Infrastructure, Private Equity (which generates the highest revenue), Real Estate, and Corporate Activities. The company invests in real assets that form the backbone of the economy to deliver risk-adjusted returns to stakeholders, with the majority of its revenue coming from Asset Management. It has a presence across the United Kingdom, the United States (which contributes the highest revenue), Australia, Canada, Brazil, India, Colombia, Germany, other parts of Europe, other parts of Asia, and additional countries.

KKR is one of the world's largest alternative-asset managers, with $796.5 billion in total managed assets, including $638.4 billion in fee-earning assets under management, at the end of June 2026. The company has two core segments: asset management (which includes private markets—private equity, credit, infrastructure, energy, and real estate—and public markets—primarily credit and hedge/investment fund platforms) and insurance (following the firm's initial investment in, and then ultimate purchase of, Global Atlantic Financial Group, which is engaged in retirement/annuity and life insurance lines as well as reinsurance).

Brookfield Asset Management is one of the world's largest alternative-asset managers, with USD 1.151 trillion in total managed assets, including USD 580.7 billion in fee-earning AUM, at the end of September 2025. The company has three main business segments: private credit (USD 349.0 billion in total AUM and USD 262.8 billion in fee-earning AUM), private equity (USD 151.0 billion/USD 46.3 billion), and real estate/real assets (USD 651.0 billion/USD 271.6 billion). The firm primarily serves institutional investors (90% of AUM) and high-net-worth individuals (10%), and is diversified globally, with 67% of revenue from the Americas, 20% from EMEA, and 13% from Asia-Pacific. Canadian-based Brookfield Corporation owns 73% of Brookfield's outstanding Class A shares.

Comcast is made up of three parts. The core cable business owns networks capable of providing television, internet access, and phone services to 65 million US homes and businesses, or nearly half of the country. The firm provides services to about 47% of the locations in this territory. Comcast acquired NBCUniversal from General Electric in 2011. Following the spinoff of several cable networks, including CNBC, MSNBC, and USA, NBCU now consists of the NBC network, several local NBC affiliates, Bravo, the Peacock streaming platform, Universal Studios, and several theme parks. Finally, Sky, acquired in 2018, is a large television provider in the UK and Italy.

SoftBank is an established, telecommunications services provider in Japan owning a mobile network with around 50 million mobile customers and 24% market share. It also provides some fixed line services, which are mostly resold so are low margin. The company also owns 32.4% of LY Corp, and SoftBank and LY Corp each own 32% of PayPay so SoftBank consolidates PayPay. SoftBank Group sold 33.5% of SoftBank Corp in an IPO in 2018 and has since sold down further to a 40% holding.

Apollo is one of the world's largest alternative asset managers, with $908.4 billion in total assets under management, or AUM, including $685.0 billion in fee-earning assets, at the end of September 2025. The company has two core operating segments: asset management and retirement services. Apollo operates with scale in each of its major product lines-private equity (with $125.6 billion in total AUM and $71.7 billion in fee-earning AUM), real estate/real assets ($59.6 billion/$27.1 billion), and private credit ($723.2 billion/$586.2 billion). Apollo has a distribution profile that is likely not too far off from the industry averages-with 84% of its assets held by institutional investors and 16% by high-net-worth clients.

KDDI is a Japanese telecommunications operator headquartered in Iidabashi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and the country's second-largest mobile carrier by number of contracts after NTT Docomo. Its roots go back to DDI, founded in 1984 by Kyocera founder Kazuo Inamori, and KDDI was formed in 2000 by merging DDI, the former international monopoly KDD and mobile operator IDO. It sells mobile services under the au brand and the UQ Mobile and povo sub-brands, fixed broadband under au Hikari, and cable television through its J:COM joint venture. It also runs data centres through Telehouse, corporate network and cloud services, and financial services through au Financial Holdings. KDDI earns most of its revenue from monthly mobile and broadband subscriptions, and reported revenue of about ¥5.24 trillion and 44,952 employees in fiscal 2020. It invests in start-ups through its corporate venture programme, the KDDI Open Innovation Fund. In sports technology it backed multi-angle replay company 4DReplay in 2017 and 2019 and Tokyo sports video-analysis software maker RUN.EDGE in 2020. KDDI is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

America Movil is the largest telecom carrier in Latin America, serving about 330 million wireless customers across the region. It also provides fixed-line phone, internet access, and television services in most of the countries it serves. Mexico is the firm’s largest market, providing about 35% of service revenue. Movil dominates the Mexican wireless market with about 60% customer share and also serves about half of the country's fixed-line internet access customers. Brazil, its second most important market, provides about 20% of service revenue. Movil sold its low-margin wireless resale business in the US to Verizon in 2021 and now owns a 1.4% stake in the US telecom giant. The firm also holds a 61% stake in Telekom Austria.

Saudi Telecom Co offers telecommunications, information and media services that establish, manage, operates and maintains fixed and mobile telecommunication networks and systems to customers. The company manufactures and markets devices, equipment, and components of different telecommunication networks including fixed, moving and special networks, and computer programs and the other intellectual properties. It is also engaged in real estate investment activities. The company principally earns its revenue from airtime usage, messaging, data services, interconnect fees, connection fees and device sales. Its reportable segments include: stc; Channels; Solutions; stc Kuwait; stc Bahrain; Center 3; STC Bank; Sirar; Specialized; iot2; and Other operating segments.

Singapore Telecommunications is Singapore's leading telecoms company. It owns extensive wired and wireless networks offering data and voice services to a broad customer base. Singtel's diverse investment portfolio spreads across the region. The firm wholly owns Optus in Australia and minority equity stakes in Airtel (28%) in India; Telkomsel (35%) in Indonesia; Globe Telecom (47%) in the Philippines; and Advanced Information Services (23%) and Intouch (21%) in Thailand. Singtel is majority-owned by the Singapore government.

Emirates Telecommunications Group Co PJSC is a telecommunications company. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides telecommunication and consulting services, media services, and equipment to over sixteen countries in Asia and Africa. Etisalat specializes in fixed-line services, voice communication, wireless communication, and data communication services. The majority of the company's revenues profits and assets relates to its operations in the UAE.

Orange is a France-based telecommunications group that operates mobile, fixed-line, broadband and enterprise-network services across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. It serves consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations through subscription connectivity, devices, digital services and managed networks. The group was historically known as France Télécom and adopted the Orange corporate name in 2013. In Morocco it entered Medi Telecom with a 40 percent acquisition in 2010 and bought a further 9 percent in 2015. The operator subsequently adopted the Orange Maroc brand while retaining the Medi Telecom legal heritage. Orange is a publicly traded operating company, so its purchases of the Moroccan operator are classified as strategic M&A rather than financial sponsor transactions.

Swisscom is the incumbent telecom operator in Switzerland, with a very high market share in mobile and fixed-line markets. It charges high prices compared with its competitors and other European peers due to the historical stability of the Swiss telecom market and a favorable regulatory environment. In 2024, Swisscom acquired Vodafone Italia in a deal worth EUR 8 billion.

Telstra is Australia’s largest telecommunications company, with dominant market shares in voice, mobile, enterprise telecom, and fixed-line broadband resale via the national broadband network. Telstra provides most of its products and services via its infrastructure assets, such as a fixed-line network (data centers, exchanges, poles, ducts, pits and pipes, fiber network), a mobile network, and mobile towers. Its customers span retail, corporate, government, wholesale, and overseas segments. Telstra also provides the government-owned, last-mile fixed-line National Broadband Network with long-term access to its infrastructure, in return for recurring payments. Finally, Telstra operates a leading telecom operation in Papua New Guinea and the surrounding South-Pacific countries.

Vodafone operates mobile and fixed-line networks and businesses across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Its largest market is Germany, where it is the second mobile operator after Deutsche Telekom and owns two cable network after acquiring Kabel Deutschland in 2013 and Liberty Global Germany in 2019. In the UK Vodafone merger with CK Hutchison in 2024, consolidating the mobile market. It also divested its Spanish and Italian divisions in that same year, given their low returns on invested capital.

Chunghwa Telecom Co Ltd is Taiwan's integrated telecom operator, providing fixed-line, wireless, and Internet and data services. The company segment consists of Consumer Business, Enterprise Business, International Business, and Others. The company generates the majority of its revenue from the Consumer Business segment. The consumer Business segment generates revenue from Mobile services, Fixed-line services, Sales, and others.

EQT is a Swedish global private markets investment firm, formally EQT AB, headquartered in Stockholm and listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. It was founded in 1994 by Investor AB, SEB and AEA Investors, with Conni Jonsson as founding chairman, and is associated with the Wallenberg family. Its funds invest in private equity, infrastructure, real estate, growth equity and venture capital across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, and it runs a private wealth business. EQT ranks second globally in private equity and fifth in infrastructure by capital raised. Together with Coller Capital it reported about €341 billion of assets under management in the second quarter of 2026, and its portfolio companies employ more than 550,000 people across over 330 companies. It set up EQT Ventures in 2016, listed in 2019, bought Life Sciences Partners in 2021 and Baring Private Equity Asia in 2022. Well-known investments include the software company IFS, the pest-control group Anticimex, SUSE, Zayo Group and the Swedish fibre operator IP-Only. It is led by chief executive Per Franzén and chairman Jean Salata, and earns management fees and carried interest.

3i Group PLC is a closed-ended investment fund and an investment company specialising in private equity and infrastructure. The Company generates returns for its shareholders and co-investors by investing in private equity and infrastructure assets. Its business segments are private equity, infrastructure, and Scandlines. The private equity segment invests in business services, consumer, healthcare, and industrial sectors, while the infrastructure segment invests in utilities, transportation, and social infrastructure.

Ares Management is one of the world's largest alternative-asset managers, with $595.7 billion in total assets under management, or AUM, including $367.6 billion in fee-earning AUM, at the end of September 2025. The company has four main business segments: private credit ($391.5 billion in total AUM and $240.2 billion in fee-earning AUM), private equity, ($25.1 billion/$11.8 billion), real estate/real assets ($132.4 billion/$80.5 billion), and other alternatives ($46.7 billion/$35.1 billion). The firm primarily serves institutional investors (80% of AUM) and high-net-worth individuals (20%). Ares operates through more than 35 offices in over 15 countries around the globe.

BT Group is the incumbent telecommunications operator in the UK. BT is the owner of Openreach, the largest fixed-line network in the country. Openreach operates as a separate entity due to regulatory requirements but is still 100% owned by BT. Openreach has accelerated its fiber investments and expects to have 90% of the UK covered with FTTH by 2026. In the consumer division, BT has approximately 30% market share in broadband and mobile services. The enterprise segment serves large corporations while the global services division provides communications consultancy services.

T. Rowe Price provides asset management services for individual and institutional investors. It offers a broad range of no-load US and international stock, hybrid, bond, and money market funds. At the end of September, the firm had $1.767 trillion in managed assets, composed of equity (50%), balanced (35%), fixed-income and money market (12%), and alternative (3%) offerings. Approximately two-thirds of managed assets are held in retirement-based accounts, which provides T. Rowe Price with a somewhat stickier client base than most of its peers. The firm also manages private accounts, provides retirement planning advice, and offers discount brokerage and trust services. The company is primarily a US-based asset manager, deriving less than 10% of its AUM from overseas.

China Unicom is the incumbent fixed-line operator in 10 northern Chinese provinces, as well as the third-largest wireless operator nationwide. As of June 2025, it had around 355 million billing wireless customers and over 125 million fixed-line subscribers. China Unicom also has a growing ICT business. We estimate it has the third largest internet data center business in China with 420,000 cabinets and its Cloud Service revenue is also showing strong growth. It has its own 4G network and shares the radio access function with China Telecom for its 5G network.

Telefónica is a company whose business is listed telecommunications group providing fixed, mobile and digital services. The organisation is based in Madrid and operates with sector-specific employees, commercial relationships and delivery infrastructure. It serves households, small businesses, enterprises and wholesale network customers. Its products and services are used in Spain, Germany, Brazil and other markets through fibre, mobile and cloud infrastructure. The company earns revenue through subscription and services, reflecting the way customers purchase its offering. Management coordinates product development, sales, operations and customer support for the relevant market. The business is an operating company rather than an investment vehicle, even where a financial sponsor owns shares. This profile describes the transaction-period entity and avoids conflating it with similarly named companies, subsidiaries or current parent groups. The description supplies the operating context required to interpret its role as a target, platform or acquirer in the documented transactions.

MTN Group Ltd is a mobile telecommunications provider operating across South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Syria, and Sudan. The majority of the company's revenue is earned in South Africa and Nigeria. The company also has a joint venture in Iran. From a product perspective, the majority of its revenue is from voice and data. Other contributors include SMS and sale of devices revenue. MTN also provides enterprise services to small/midsize enterprises and corporate clients. The company owns the mobile infrastructure and data centers. Its segments include Network services, Mobile devices, Inter connect and roaming, Digital and fintech and others.

Two Point Zero Group PJSC is an investment firm involved in the energy and consumer sectors. Its portfolio incorporates AI-enabled and diversified assets designed to support operational efficiency and potential long-term returns. Its business operations are involved in: i) Energy & Infrastructure: renewable energy, infrastructure solutions, and regional mining across the energy value chain. ii) Consumer: media, mobility, retail, beauty, food, and packaging iii) Investments: institutions and fintech initiatives focused on long-term capital, synergies, and financial infrastructure development.

China United Network Communications Ltd is a Chinese telecom operator. It operates fixed and mobile communications services, as well as domestic and international communications facilities, a satellite IPLC service, a data communications service, a network access service, value-added telecom services, and system integration services related to information and communications services. The company provides its products to personal & residential customers, small & medium businesses, VIP customers, and international customers.

Amundi resulted from the merger of the asset manager businesses of French banks Credit Agricole and Societe Generale in 2010. In 2017, it expanded into Italy, Germany, and Austria by acquiring Pioneer Investments, which had previously been UniCredit's asset manager. France accounts for just under half of assets under management, while Italy and the rest of Europe contribute about 30% combined. Assets from Asia are growing rapidly and contribute just shy of 20%. Amundi is the largest European asset manager and a top 10 asset manager globally. Credit Agricole remains a controlling shareholder with a 70% stake.

Telefonica Brasil, known as Vivo, is the largest wireless carrier in Brazil with 102 million customers, which is equal to about 39% market share. The firm is strongest in the postpaid business, where it has 68 million customers, or about 41% share of this market. Wireless services and equipment contribute about 70% of total revenue. Vivo is the incumbent fixed-line telephone operator in Sao Paulo state and also owns an extensive fiber network across the country. The firm provides internet access to 8 million households on this network. The firm also sells pay-TV and phone services to its fixed-line customers. Finally, corporate data and IT services, including cloud computing support, contribute about 9% of total revenue.

Vodacom Group Ltd is a telecommunications provider. The company provides fixed-line, broadband, and mobile services. It earns revenue through two main segments: South Africa and international. International includes regions such as Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, and Lesotho; the majority of revenue is sourced from South Africa. Vodacom also has an enterprise service product, whereby telecommunications and managed services are offered to enterprises. The company owns mobile infrastructure.

Telenor is an international provider of telecommunications services. It is the incumbent dominant telecom operator in Norway, and the Norwegian government holds a stake of more than 50% in the firm. Telenor also operates in other Nordic countries like Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, and owns several businesses in Asia. Most of Telenor's operations are mobile businesses, although it also has some fixed-line operations in Nordic European countries.

BCE is one of Canada’s “Big 3” telecom service providers, offering wireless and broadband services nationally, but with strongholds in Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada. The firm serves 10 million postpaid and nearly 1 million prepaid wireless customers, and 5 million broadband customers across a footprint reaching about 13 million homes. The firm purchased Ziply Fiber in 2025, expanding its reach to the Pacific Northwest of the US. Outside of its wireless and wireline services, BCE operates a media segment containing multiple broadcast television channels, regional radio stations, and a digital media platform. The firm completed its divestiture of its 37.5% share of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment to Rogers in 2025, retaining its minority position in the Montreal Canadiens.

Bouygues is a family-controlled French conglomerate that comprises a disparate range of assets: construction businesses, a TV network, and a telecom network. It is one of the largest construction companies in France and Europe, with over EUR 45 billion in revenue across the four engineering, procurement, and construction businesses under its ownership, as well as one of the four telecom operators in France.

Telia is the incumbent telecom operator in Sweden. It also operates in Norway, Finland and the Baltic countries. In the past five years, Telia has been narrowing its business focus, divesting businesses in Asia and focusing on its core markets.

KPN is the incumbent telecommunications operator in the Netherlands. It has 40% share of the broadband market and 20% of the postpaid mobile market, with VodafoneZiggo (mobile and fixed) and Odido (mobile) as main competitors. KPN is rolling out fiber to the home in the Netherlands and expects to have most of the country covered by 2026. KPN's management has a cost-conscious mentality, something that has allowed it to grow dividends at midsingle digits over many years.

Rogers Communications is the largest wireless service provider in Canada with more than 11 million subscribers, equating to one-third of the total Canadian market. Rogers' wireless business accounts for more than half of total revenue and has been growing at a higher rate than other segments. The cable segment, which provides about 38% of total revenue after acquiring Shaw, offers home internet, television, and landline phone service to consumers and businesses. Remaining sales come from Rogers' media unit, which owns and operates various television and radio stations and major Toronto sports franchises, including the Blue Jays, Maple Leafs, Raptors, Toronto FC, and Argonauts.

EXOR NV is a private equity investment firm based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The firm seeks to invest in the United States and Europe.