Telefónica Deutschland will sell about 10,100 sites to the group’s majority-owned tower infrastructure arm, Telxius, for €1.5 billion if the deal receives regulatory approvals.
The deal doubles the size of Telexius since its creation in 2016 and includes a commitment to build 2,400 additional sites in Germany.
After the acquisition and the build-out programme, Telxius’ portfolio will exceed 32,800 sites in the six countries where it operates.
This transaction is aligned with the strategic plan announced by Telefónica in November: Telexius is the main asset of Telefónica Infra created as part of that plan and is a portfolio management unit which owns Telefónica Group’s stakes in infrastructure vehicles.
The transaction will reduce Telefónica Group’s net debt by some €500 million over 2020 and 2021.
Financing
A statement claimed this cemented Telexius’ position as one of the “leading neutral global infrastructure operators”. Around 80% of its sites are in Europe with the rest in Latin America.
Telxius will finance 90% of the value of the acquisition in two ways. Firstly through a capital increase, to be subscribed by its current shareholders in proportion to their participation in the company. Secondly “through internally generated resources”.
The remaining 10% will be financed through incremental debt.
Telxius is owned by Telefónica (50,01%), KKR (40%) with the remaining (9.99%) stake owned by Pontegadea.
The deal is intended to give Telefónica Deutschland more financial flexibility while the company secures access to important locations via long-term lease agreements agreed by the parties.