Telefónica’s subsidiary Telxius, which lists KKR and Pontegadea as minority shareholders, has agreed to sell its tower division to American Tower Corporation (ATC) for €7.7bn in cash.
The division has a presence both in Europe (Spain and Germany) and Latin America (Brazil, Peru, Chile and Argentina) and the sale, which encompasses around 30,772 tower sites, will be undertaken in two separate transactions for Europe and Latin America and closed once the respective regulatory authorisations have been obtained.
Telefónica is expected to see a capital gain of around €3.5 billion a reduction of its net debt by some €4.6 billion from the sale.
Commenting on the sale, José María Álvarez-Pallete, the president of Telefónica, said: “this is a deal that makes strategic sense within our roadmap. American Towers was our second supplier after Telxius.
“After this great operation we will continue to focus on our most ambitious objectives: the integration of O2 with Virgin in the United Kingdom, the purchase of Oi mobile in Brazil and the reduction of debt”.
Following the sale, ATC will become Telefónica’s leading supplier in both Europe and Latin America and maintains its status as a partner in strategic projects in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.
