Vodafone sells towers stake in £14bn consortium deal
Vodafone agreed to sell a hefty stake in its phone mast business this morning to KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners in a deal valuing the firm €16.2bn (£14.3bn).
The FTSE 100 firm said in a statement that it had agreed a €32-a-share deal for Vantage Towers, allowing Vodafone to move its 81.7 per cent holding into the private equity led joint venture.
Shares in Frankfurt-listed Vantage Towers, which operates tens of thousands of towers across 10 European countries, climbed as much as 12 per cent yesterday following the announcement.
Vodafone chief Nick Read said that deal was a “landmark moment,” allowing his firm to retain co-control and dump Vantage Towers off its balance sheet.
The joint venture will crucially mean that Vantage will no longer be limited by borrowing restrictions imposed on telecom companies.
The consortium includes funding from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.