Cellnex closes CK Hutchison deal in the UK

It is the last of a series of concluded deals between Cellnex and CK Hutchison in Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Sweden and the UK.

The transactions in these six markets amount to a total investment of approximately €10 billion with an additional investment of around €1.15 billion over the next eight years, which includes the roll-out of new sites, among other projects.

Barcelona / London, 11 November 2022. Cellnex Telecom today announced that it has completed its acquisition of the telecommunications tower assets of CK Hutchison in the United Kingdom (which includes interests in or revenues deriving from up to 6,600 sites, once the build to suit (“BTS”) programmes are completed), after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) accepted final undertakings proposed by Cellnex and CK Hutchison in May this year (Final Undertakings) and following the agreement by Cellnex to transfer approximately 1,100 of Cellnex’s existing sites to the UK telecommunications infrastructure operator Wireless Infrastructure Group (WIG).

This marks the closing of the last transaction included in the agreements entered into between Cellnex and CK Hutchison in November 2020 for Cellnex to acquire CK Hutchison’s telecommunications sites in six European countries: Austria, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, and the UK. These six transactions amount to a total investment of €10 billion, and the agreements also include the roll-out of new sites by 2030, representing an additional investment of €1.15 billion. The combined perimeter of the transactions will therefore amount to up to approximately 30,000 sites by 2030, once the BTS programmes are completed. The combined perimeter is expected to generate an annual Adjusted EBITDA of approximately €970 million and a recurring levered free cash flow of around €620 million upon the completion of all BTS programmes, including third party tenants and potential efficiencies.

Cellnex CEO Tobias Martínez said that “this series of agreements with CK Hutchison not only strengthens our position as the leading pan-European operator, but also bolsters our relationships with our customers and opens us up to new opportunities and perspectives for collaboration. In essence, this rationalising of the infrastructure managed by a neutral operator like Cellnex will create the necessary incentives to accelerate, improve and expand mobile coverage, including 5G, in these key markets.”

With the completion of this acquisition, and following the disposal of sites to WIG, Cellnex will operate or otherwise have interests in or revenues deriving from a total of up to c.14,500 telecommunications towers in the UK, once the ongoing BTS programmes have been completed, making the country one of Cellnex’s largest markets by volume of assets managed.

As planned and announced previously in connection with the November 2020 agreements, on completion of the UK transaction, CK Hutchison has received c.34,1 million shares (c.27,1 million newly issued shares along with 7 million treasury shares) representing approximately 4,8% of Cellnex’s share capital, as part of the consideration for this transaction.

About Cellnex Telecom 

The efficient deployment of next-generation connectivity is essential to drive technological innovation and accelerate inclusive economic growth. Cellnex Telecom is the independent wireless telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructures operator that enables operators to access Europe’s most extensive network of advanced telecommunications infrastructures on a shared-use basis, helping to reduce access barriers for new operators and to improve services in the most remote areas.

Cellnex manages a portfolio of 138,000 sites —including forecast roll-outs up to 2030— in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Poland. Cellnex’s business is structured in four major areas: telecommunication infrastructures services; audio-visual broadcasting networks; security and emergency service networks and solutions for smart urban infrastructure and services management (Smart cities and the Internet of Things (IoT)).

The company is listed on the continuous market of the Spanish stock exchange and is part of the selective IBEX 35 and EuroStoxx 100 indices. It is also present in the main sustainability indexes, such as CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), Sustainalytics, FTSE4Good and MSCI. Cellnex’s reference shareholders include Edizione, GIC, TCI, Blackrock, CPP Investments, CriteriaCaixa and Norges Bank.