Vodafone to float giant European telecom towers arm

Vodafone has confirmed it is to press ahead with plans to float its multi-billion-pound European telecom towers division.

Vodafone is one of the world's biggest and longest established mobile phone operators.

The mobile network giant said it aims to spin off Vantage Towers through a listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by the end of next month. But it stressed the timing of the initial public offering (IPO) was dependent on capital market conditions.

Analysts estimate the float of a minority stake in Vantage could raise up to €4 billion (£3.4bn) for Vodafone, helping the group cut its debt.

Vantage grew its portfolio by 450 new macro sites to 82,000 locations across ten European markets in the nine months to the end of December to boost its reach.

Chief executive Vivek Badrinath said: “The IPO is an important milestone and sets the foundations for the next stage of our growth within the dynamic towers industry.

“We will be looking to capture the exciting value-creating opportunities the sector has to offer and to build on our position as a leading tower infrastructure company in Europe.”

Figures recently showed that Vantage notched up revenues of €725 million for the nine months to the end of December 2020.

Vodafone said: “Vantage Towers is focused on deploying the full potential of its market leading tower infrastructure to serve the increasing demand for connectivity across Europe, driven by data growth, 5G roll-out and regulatory coverage obligations.

“Vantage Towers enjoys highly visible organic growth, margin expansion and cash generation; with additional value creation potential from investment beyond the core business.”

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