Spanish telco Telefonica and smaller local rival Yoigo will sell at least 4,227 mobile towers to Abertis Telecom for €385m (US$510m). The companies have also agreed to share their network assets.
Abertis, part of Spanish conglomerate Abertis…
Spanish telco Telefonica and smaller local rival Yoigo will sell at least 4,227 mobile towers to Abertis Telecom for €385m (US$510m). The companies have also agreed to share their network assets.
Abertis, part of Spanish conglomerate Abertis Infraestructuras, announced today that the agreement, expected to be carried out in Q4 this year, will see it acquire the operators’ passive structures. Those that cannot be optimised are set to be dismantled.
An Abertis spokesperson explained that the company will receive a contribution of €60m per year in EBITDA until the towers are fully incorporated within its portfolio. This will depend upon upon the pace of integration of the sites, the spokesperson said.
Yoigo parent, Sweden’s TeliaSonera, said in its own statement that the deal is expected to generate sales proceeds of €60-€70m for the Spanish unit and reduce operating costs.
When the transaction closes, Telefonica’s and Yoigo’s equipment will be based on the towers. Abertis said towers are expected to be offered to other interested operators as well.
Abertis, which acquired 1,000 mobile towers from Telefonica in 2012, said the deal furthers its diversification from terrestrial broadcasting to wider telecoms services.
“Following closing of this transaction and the Hispasat takeover announced last week, more than 65% of the telecommunications revenues will come from other than broadcast services,” the company said.
In late July, the Abertis group agreed to take control of local satellite operator Hispasat in a €172.5m deal.
Network sharing deal
Meanwhile, Telefonica’s mobile unit Movistar and TeliaSonera’s Yoigo have agreed to share networks in Spain.
TeliaSonera announced today that the series of agreements will see Yoigo access Telefonica’s fixed-line assets in exchange for granting the incumbent access to its superfast 4G network.
Yoigo, the smallest of Spain’s four mobile operators, will consequently be able to offer customers bundled fixed-line and mobile services and therefore better compete with mobile carriers Vodafone and Orange and cablecos Ono and Jazztel.
These packages will combine Yoigo’s mobile services with Telefonica’s fixed-line voice and broadband services, both ADSL and fibre.
In return, Telefonica, the only local operator not currently providing 4G services, will have access to Yoigo’s 4G network, which launched services in Madrid in July.
TeliaSonera said Yoigo’s 4G network is expected to reach 48% of the Spanish population by the end of the year.
The deal will also extend Yoigo’s national roaming contract to use Telefonica’s 2G and 3G services in areas of the country where it does not have coverage until 2016.
