Altice Europe is to sell equity stakes in its tower businesses in France and Portugal, retaining only minority holdings.
The agreements with KKR, Morgan Stanley and Horizon Equity Partners total €2.5 billion and will create one of the largest European Towercos.
“We will create a leading European tower business, including the number one in France,” said Altice founder Patrick Drahi. “Both tower businesses will be uniquely positioned to grow as they provide increasingly important infrastructure services to operators in both markets. Simultaneously, these transactions underline our commitment to deliver and proactively manage our balance sheet while highlighting the significant underlying value of Altice Europe’s business”.
Drahi has been looking to improve Altice’s finances, through a series of moves including a halting of new acquisitions, and the spin-off of its US operations.
Altice France has entered into an exclusivity agreement with KKR for the sale of 49.99% of the equity in a new business named SFR TowerCo.
Separately, PT Portugal has reached an agreement with a Consortium including Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Horizon Equity Partners for the sale of 75% in a company named Towers of Portugal.
