Spain’s Telefónica has announced that it will sell a portion of its rural fiber network to a group led by France’s Credit Agricole and Vauban for roughly 1 billion euros.    According to a statement released by Telefónica, the financial group and the investment firm will buy a 45 percent stake in Bluevia, a provider of rural fiber, with a total valuation of 2.5 billion euros. Telefónica also stated that it anticipates the deal to be finalized by year’s end, subject to regulatory approvals.   Bluevia is a platform for managing and deploying fiber networks in underserved rural parts of Spain in collaboration with networks administered by third-party operators. The transaction takes place less than a month after Telefónica established their dedicated neutral wholesale FTTH provider, which is primarily focused on connecting areas comprising Spain’s lowest population densities.   As a neutral wholesaler, Bluevia will establish a fiber network in…