Vodafone Group has divested an additional 10% interest in tower company Vantage Towers in a deal worth €1.3bn.
The sale is part of the previously announced deal in 2022.
Under the deal, the British telecommunications company agreed to sell a stake in the Germany-based tower unit to a consortium of KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).
Oak Holdings, which is the co-control partnership of Vodafone, GIP and KKR, has bought the interest to increase the ownership in Vantage Towers.
Following the completion of the latest transaction, Oak Holdings holds an 89.3% stake in Vantage Towers while Vodafone’s effective ownership has decreased to 44.7%.
Vodafone will receive the same €32 per share price as agreed upon in the initial transaction.
Besides, the divestiture has enabled the 50-50 joint ownership structure with the consortium that was envisioned when the deal was first announced.
The total net proceeds to Vodafone from the sell down in Vantage Towers reach to €6.6bn.
According to the British telecommunications company, the proceeds from the transaction will be used for deleveraging.
The new capital will also reduce Vodafone’s net debt or adjusted EBITDAaL by 0.1 times. It is in line with Vodafone’s target of operating in the lower half of its 2.25x – 2.75x leverage range, said the company.
Established in 2020, Vantage Towers has approximately 83,000 radio mast sites in 10 countries. Its portfolio includes towers, distributed antenna systems (DAS), masts, rooftop sites, and small cells.
Vantage Towers builds, operates, and leases the infrastructure to mobile wireless network operators, internet of thing (IoT) providers or utilities with an aim to make a better-connected Europe.
Earlier this month, Vodafone and Virgin Media O2 UK signed a new network-sharing agreement to extend the current partnership between both parties for over a decade.
