Ono and a consortium of private equity partners have agreed to pay 2.25 billion euros for the cable assets of Spanish business Auna in a deal that will create the country's second largest dedicated fixed line and broadband services operator, behind Telefonica. The deal, which was delayed by legal wrangles, involves private equity groups JP Morgan Partners, Providence, Quadrangle and Thomas H. Lee Partners. With a fibre optic network covering nearly 10,000 km in Madrid, Barcelona and much of Spain's north and southeast, Auna will complete the national footprint with Ono's 15,000 km of infrastructure in the east and southwest of the country.