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This quarter’s big headline is Cellnex’s exit from the Austrian market. In early August the towerco announced the sale of 100% of its business in Austria for EUR803mn to a consortium. It comprises 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.
Cellnex has undertaken a selective divestment course aimed at improving its credit rating and reducing its leverage. The Austrian deal follows the sale of its assets in Ireland earlier in 2024, as well as in the Nordics in end 2023. In contrast, in Portugal Cellnex is on its way to acquire six more macro towers from MNO NOS for an undisclosed amount following a major 2020 acquisition it did for 2,000 towers.
Vodafone Group sold a 10% stake in Oak Holdings, the consortium through which it jointly controls pan-European towerco Vantage towers, for EUR 1.3bn to the consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and KKR. The move will establish a 50:50 ownership structure within the partnership. Vodafone will use the proceeds from the sale for delevering.
Keeping West, MNOs have also been active on acquisitions. MNO-to-be Digi Portugal has acquired the country’s largest MVNO Nowo for EUR150mn. This deal part of a series of MVNO transactions in Europe this year – French MNO Bouygues Telecom got the purchase of MVNO La Poste Telecom recently approved, KPN bought Dutch MVNO Youfone and Vodafone Czech Republic acquired MVNO SAZKAmobil. At times of scaled
investments and financial difficulties, MNOs acquire MVNOs to not only increase market shares but also to improve market positions, for example enter niche market segments, and improve revenues.
On the east, UkrTOWER’s sale to NJJ Capital has completed. TowerXchange understands that MNO Bite’s assets in Latvia and Lithuania are up for sale and expects more developments in the next 12 months.
In addition, MNO consolidation is to take place in Slovenia with United Group’s Telemach acquisition of rival MNO T2. Plus, the decision for approval of the proposed merger between Three and Vodafone in the UK from the country’s competition authorities has now been pushed to December. Nonetheless, the UK has had a busy summer period. Indian Bharti Enterprises announced it’ll become BT’s largest shareholder, buying 24.5% shares in stages from its current owner Altice for an undisclosed amount and alleviating its financial pressures. The stake is estimated to be worth US$4bn. Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim has also invested in the UK MNO buying stakes in June for GBP400mn and early September for GBP150mn. Alongside this, tower build and 4G/5G coverage in rural and remote places continues under the public-private initiative Shared Rural Network (SRN) which involves all UK MNOs and several infrastructure providers including Cornerstone and Cellnex. In addition to inorganic growth, 5G (and in a few countries 4G) rollout continues to present significant colocation and new build opportunities for Europe’s towercos.
In Italy, Phoenix Tower International (PTI) has announced a significant BTS agreement with MNO Iliad for the development of up to 1,900 new telecommunications sites in densely populated and moderately populated areas. Street works are however showing a lot of promise, delivering macro-cell like capabilities with small cell like footprints, and outside of the urban centres more joint ventures are being formed to address rural coverage. Alongside more traditional revenue streams, 5G is further accelerating towercos’ focus into new service lines. The provision of in-building solutions is now commonplace for many towercos. The outdoor small cell coverage requirements spurred by the densification needs of MNOs are creating new revenue streams. In addition, public transport network coverage has seen particular growth as EU initiatives are channelling more focus into transport networks presenting monetisation opportunities.
Plus, whilst traditionally associated with towercos operating in developing markets rather than those in a good grid market such as Europe, the provision of energy and energy services is starting to feature more significantly in towercos’ service offerings. Escalating energy consumption by networks, increased electricity costs and a heightened focus on ESG are all driving further emphasis on power and power security. Exploring clean energy solutions has become a strategic direction for European towercos with some already reporting onsite renewable energy generation.
Figures included in the report:
1. Ownership of Europe's estimated 737,740 sites
2. Estimated tower and rooftop counts for select markets in Europe
3. Tower counts of Europe's towercos
4. Tower strategies of Europe's major MNOs
5. Towerco penetration across the European continent
6. Austria - estimated tower ownership
7. Belgium - estimated tower ownership
8. Bulgaria - estimated tower ownership
9. Croatia - estimated tower ownership
10. Cyprus - estimated tower ownership
11. Czech Republic - estimated tower ownership
12. Denmark - estimated tower ownership
13. Estonia - estimated tower ownership
14. Finland - estimated tower ownership
15. France - estimated tower ownership
16. Germany - estimated tower ownership
17. Greece - estimated tower ownership
18. Hungary - estimated tower ownership
19. Iceland - estimated tower ownership
20. Ireland - estimated tower ownership
21. Italy - estimated tower ownership
22. Kazakhstan - estimated tower ownership
23. Malta - estimated tower ownership
24. Netherlands - estimated tower ownership
25. Norway - estimated tower ownership
26. Poland - estimated tower ownership
27. Portugal - estimated tower ownership
28. Romania - estimated tower ownership
29. Russia - estimated tower ownership
30. Serbia - estimated tower ownership
31. Spain - estimated tower ownership
32. Sweden - estimated tower ownership
33. Sweden - network sharing joint ventures
34. Switzerland - estimated tower ownership
35. Turkey - estimated tower ownership
36. Ukraine - estimated tower ownership
37. United Kingdom - estimated tower ownership
38(a). European MNO-towerco deals since 2008
38(b). European towerco consolidation since 2015
38(c). Major European towerco equity deals since 2016
