French media group NRJ has announced its intention to sell broadcast towerco Towercast, a competitor to TDF, which offers DTT and FM broadcast services via 500 sites across France. Declaring that Towercast isn’t a ‘fit’ with NRJ’s core business, it’s believed NRJ hopes to raise up to €300mn from the sale. TowerXchange takes a look at what’s on offer, how this sale could affect market dynamics and who the leading bidders are likely to be.
France is one of Europe’s most investible tower markets, and the aggressive market entry of Iliad’s Free Mobile in 2012 has shaken up incumbent MNOs Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom, driving down tariffs and ARPU amidst the huge capital expense of spectrum and network densification for 4G.