Germany: According to local press, Deutsche Telekom is planning to sell a 49% stake in infrastructure arm Deutsche Funkturm. TowerXchange does not believe a formal process is underway as yet, but already the news has sparked interest with both German and foreign investors, who see their 34,700 sites across Germany as a very attractive investment prospect.
Italy: Spanish towerco Cellnex has bought out Wind’s remaining 10% stake in its Italian subsidiary Galata. Cellnex paid €87mn for the additional 10% of Galata, giving it full ownership. Cellnex became the largest independent operator of wireless infrastructure in Italy in 2015 when it acquired Galata, along with 7,400 towers, from Wind, in a 15-year network deal.
Italy: TIM-owned towerco INWIT posted impressive H117 results, with revenues up 5.4% on H116 to 173.8mn. Revenues from other operators increased 14.3% over the year to 43mn. EBITDA was up 13.7% to 90.6mn with a 52.1% margin reflecting the increase in number of tenants and reduction in leasing costs. Net profit for the half year totalled €59.1mn which was a 21.6% increase on H116. CEO Oscar Cicchetti said ‘we are convinced that in the transition from 4G to 5G operators will increasingly need traditional and innovative wireless infrastructure. INWIT wants to seize all present and future opportunities to support [the] operators’
Netherlands: Cellnex’s has announced the acquisition of Dutch towerco Alticom for €133mn. This deal not only rolls up one of the the few remaining independent towercos of any scale in the Netherlands, but also helps the Spanish towerco to pursue its 5G strategy, given Alticom’s long-range, high-capacity infrastructure nodes. Cellnex’s position as Europe’s leading towerco, and one of the most forward thinking independent operators, can only be strengthened by this acquisition, leaving them with a total of 17,315 sites across Europe.
Russia: The sale of VEON’s ~13,000 towers in Russia has been postponed indefinitely, with VEON yet to decide whether to re-absorb their tower business, National Tower, back into the main opco, or whether it will continue to operate as a towerco.
Spain: As Alantia’s offer for Cellnex’s parent company (and owner of 34% of Cellnex’s shares) Abertis is assessed in Spain, speculation continues about whether the acquisition would spark a sale process for Cellnex itself. American Tower have been rumoured to have expressed an interest, but most of the chatter in the market indicates that Abertis’ sale would not have a knock on effect on Cellnex, in the short term at least.
The Atlantia offer is currently being reviewed by both Abertis and the Spanish government, with Abertis stating that they are not closed to the idea of counter offers to the €16.3bn cash offer made my Alantia, although the likelihood of an offer from ACS is looking increasingly slim.
Spain: Telxius posted solid results in Q217, with revenues of €182m and a strong growth of 11.4%
YOY, driven by new tower lease contracts and by adjustments in pass-through revenues and costs. The tower business reported a quarterly increase in its tenancy ratio of from 1.28x to 1.30x at June, with new lease contracts signed primarily in Spain, Germany and Brazil. The tower portfolio grew (15,907 towers as of June) with the net addition of 10 towers in the quarter (37 in the half year). Telefónica continues to advance its deleveraging strategy, with net debt standing at €48.5bn at the end of June 2017 and experienced a reduction of €3.7bn YOY, or a €4.9bn reduction considering the closing of the sale of equity in Telxius.
Switzerland: Cellnex has closed their acquisition of Swiss MNO Sunrise’s towers, in a deal worth €430mn. For the first time Cellnex has acquired towers as part of a consortium, with Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners and Swiss Life Asset Managers as their partners, although Cellnex control the new entity, Swiss Towers AG, with a 54% stake.
UK: Arqiva is pursuing a dual-track process, and has appointed Barclays, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and JP Morgan to oversee a stock market listing as well as pursuing their ongoing sale plans. The sale process is believed to down to three parties, according to industry reports, and remains the most popular option with shareholders as long as the valuations for both tracks are on a par. TowerXchange believes one of the final bidders to be a consortium, possibly working with Brookfield, who are currently investing heavily in towers, particularly in India.
