Rabobank fund eyeing E-Plus towers

An Amsterdam-based Rabobank infrastructure fund has expressed interest in buying mobile towers belonging to E-Plus, the German unit of Dutch telco KPN.
Rabo Bouwfonds Communication Infrastructure Fund (CIF) partner and fund manager, Randolf Njisse, said…

An Amsterdam-based Rabobank infrastructure fund has expressed interest in buying mobile towers belonging to E-Plus, the German unit of Dutch telco KPN.

Rabo Bouwfonds Communication Infrastructure Fund (CIF) partner and fund manager, Randolf Njisse, said the towers fit well within its established asset classes, Reuters reported.

Pointing out that CIF has bought towers from KPN in the past, Njisse went on to say the German masts could then be offered to other network operators, such as Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica’s O2.

KPN, in which Carlos Slim’s America Movil (AMX) recently secured a 27.7% stake, is thought to have mandated UBS to sell about 18,000 E-Plus towers, which are valued at around €300m to €400m.

On 1 June, prior to AMX securing its current minority stake, KPN announced it was “considering strategic options” for E-Plus to “unlock its true value”.

CIF owns about 800 phone masts in the Netherlands Njisse declined to comment on whether the fund is in talks with KPN about buying E-Plus towers.

CIF was not immediately available for comment.

KPN declined to comment.