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Reports suggest that Vodafone is planning to float its mobile tower business on the Frankfurt stock exchange in March, set to clash with ever-growing Cellnex, who purchased yet more European towers today
Sources have told Reuters that Vodafone is preparing to list its new tower spin-off, Vantage Twoers, on the Frankfurt stock exchange in March. The report suggests there will be a share offering of around $3.6 billion.
The funds raised will reportedly be used to pay down the company’s debts.
The operator first spun off the unit in May, aiming to capitalise on the strong investor appetite for mobile tower infrastructure over the last year. Vantage Towers has 68,000 masts which it is looking to leverage.
The European market itself is awash with activity of late, none more so than from Cellnex, who in 2020 saw a huge increase in its tower portfolio, including purchasing 24,600 European towers from CK Hutchison back in November.
Now, in 2021, it appears that the company has no plans of stopping its acquisition spree, today announcing a deal to acquire 100% of France’s Hivory, adding 10,500 sites to their portfolio.
Meanwhile, American Tower started the year with an even larger purchase, buying Telxius Towers from Telefonica for $9.4 billion. The acquisition included 31,000 existing communication sites, with a commitment to build 3,300 new sites in Germany and Brazil by 2025.
For investors, the value of mobile tower infrastructure cannot be understated. With the 5G rollout taking place steadily around the world, towers are expected to climb steadily in value.
“There is 10 years of growth ahead, so it’s a good time to build, structure, strengthen and invest,” said Vantage Towers chief executive Vivek Badrinath, speaking to Reuters in December.
Also in the news:
Towering ambition in France
Orange opens 5G labs across Europe to help support digital transformation
Is Spain on the brink of market consolidation?
