Jan 13, 2021 - Economy

American Towers paying $9.4 billion for Telefónica assets

Dan Primack

Illustration of a cell phone tower sending out dollar sign signals — Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

American Towers agreed to buy the European and Latin American mobile phone towers businesses of Spain's Telefónica for $9.41 billion in cash.

Why it matters: This marks the first major foray by a U.S. tower operator into Europe, where Cellnex reigns supreme, and will help Telefónica eat into its €37 billion leverage load.

Details: The deal is for over 30,000 masts that from Telefónica's Telxius unit, which is partially owned by KKR.

The bottom line: "Long-term income streams tied to inflation have turned towers into prized investment targets in a world of low returns. These networks are set to expand to accommodate next-generation 5G internet and eventually link up billions of smart devices." — Inti Landauro & Isla Binnie, Reuters

Add Axios on Google

American Towers paying $9.4 billion for Telefónica assets

What to read next