The acquiring consortium comprises a number of large European funds
Cellnex Telecom has completed the sale of its Austrian assets to a consortium for for €803 million. The deal was announced on 9 August and covers about 4.600 sites in Austria. The consortium comprises Vauban Infrastructure Partners, (through Vauban’s Funds), EDF Invest, the investment arm (in non-listed assets of EDF Group) and MEAG, the asset manager of Munich Re and ERGO.
Cellnex started operating in Austria in early 2021, when it finalised the acquisition of CK Hutchison’s sites in the country. This was part of the agreement to acquire CK Hutchison’s infrastructure portfolio in six European countries, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Italy and the UK as well as Austria for €10 billion.
Marco Patuano, CEO of Cellnex, noted, “the closing of the sale of our Austrian business will allow us to further consolidate, simplify and focus our efforts on growth opportunities in the main markets in which we operate, as well as on the balance sheet and the acceleration of shareholder remuneration, thus fulfilling our commitments to the market.”
Cellnex is Europe’s largest towerco, managing a portfolio of more than 130,000 sites, including the planned deployments up to 2030, in 10 European countries. Its strongest markets are its domestic market of Spain plus France, the UK, Italy and Poland.