Mediacenter
- 09 Aug 2024
- ·
- Austria
Cellnex sells 100% of its business in Austria to the consortium comprising Vauban Infrastructure Partners, EDF Invest and MEAG
For the sum of €803 million
Barcelona – Vienna, 9 August 2024. Cellnex Telecom and the consortium comprising Vauban Infrastructure Partners, through Core Infrastructure Fund IV SCSp and Core Infrastructure Fund IV SCA SICAV RAIF, EDF Invest, the investment arm of EDF for non-listed Dedicated Asset and MEAG, the asset manager of Munich Re and ERGO, have reached an agreement for the consortium to acquire 100% of Cellnex’s business in Austria for €803 million.
Cellnex has been operating in Austria since early 2021, when it finalised the acquisition of CK Hutchison’s sites in the country as part of the agreement to acquire CK Hutchison’s infrastructure portfolio in six European countries, including Austria. Cellnex currently manages c.4.600 sites in the Alpine country.
Marco Patuano, CEO of Cellnex, highlighted that “the sale of our business in Austria is one further step within the company’s ‘Next Chapter’, in line with our strategy, to achieve the goal of consolidating, simplifying our corporate structure and focusing our efforts in the existing growth opportunities in the main markets in which we operate”.
“It will also allow us –added Patuano– to move forward on two other strategic objectives such as the focus on the balance sheet and shareholder remuneration, thus fulfilling our commitments to the market”.
The closing of the deal is subject to the corresponding regulatory approvals. This transaction allows Cellnex to continue its deleveraging process as announced at its recent Capital Markets Day, and once it is closed the Company will reassess its capital allocation priorities.
Deutsche Bank and Mediobanca are serving as financial advisors and Clifford Chance and Wolf Theiss are serving as legal counsels to Cellnex.
About Cellnex Telecom
Cellnex is Europe’s largest operator of telecommunications towers and infrastructure, allowing operators to access an extensive network of telecommunications infrastructure on a shared-use basis, thereby helping to reduce access barriers for new operators and improve services in the most remote areas. The Company manages a portfolio of over 138,000 sites – including planned roll-outs up to 2030 – in 12 European countries, with a prominent presence in Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Poland. Cellnex, which is listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange, is part of the selective IBEX35 and Euro Stoxx 100 indices and performs notably well on the main sustainability indices such as CDP, Sustainalytics, FTSE4Good, MSCI and DJSI Europe.