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Spanish incumbent to sell at least 36.4% of infrastructure arm; shares expected to begin trading on 3 October.
Telefonica on Tuesday said it aims to raise up to €1.48 billion from the initial public offering (IPO) of its infrastructure unit Telxius.
The Spanish incumbent said it has filed an IPO prospectus with the country’s stock market regulator, the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV). The operator plans to sell a 36.36% stake in Telxius with an over-allotment option that would increase it to 40%.
Launched in February, Telxius manages and monetises Telefonica’s global infrastructure. The subsidiary oversees 16,000 cell sites and more than 31,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable. It confirmed plans to push ahead with an IPO earlier this month.
"The indicative non-binding price range agreed for the offering is of between €12.00 and €15.00 per share," Telefonica said in a statement on Tuesday.
That price range values Telxius at €3 billion-€3.7 billion in total. The proceeds will help the company pay down its hefty net debt.
However, sources cited by Bloomberg said investors are concerned due to doubts about how to access Telxius’ submarine cable assets, which account for around 60% of the unit’s revenue.
"It is expected that the final sale price per share of the offering will be established on 29 September 2016 and that the shares of Telxius will start trading on the stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia and on the continuous market of said stock exchanges on 3 October 2016," said Telefonica.
