Cellnex has bought 1,800 towers from Bouygues Telecom and will build 1,200 in France. These are two separate projects.
The first implies the acquisition of 1,800 towers for 500 million euros in urban locations in France’s major cities. The torres will gradually be transfered to Cellnex France over a 2-year period.
The second project involves the construction over a 5-year period of up to 1,200 sites for 354 million euros.
It’s estimated that the these transactions will generate annual EBITDA of around 61 million euros, excluding synergies.
This operation fits in with Cellnex’s international expansion strategy. And it will now become the second biggest independent towers operator in France. It will also consolidate its relationship with Bouygues, the main client for these sites.
Bouygues and Cellnex have signed a services agreement for an initial period of 15 years which could be extended for a further 15, as well as a fixed annual increase of 2% on the tariff. From a quantitative point of view, the operation implies a lower price per tower (0,28 million/tower) than that paid by Cellnex in its last acquisitions (0,38 million euros/tower).
The deal will be financed with available cash and so there will be no increase in debt. This may have a negative impact on the company’s rating (currently BBB- with Fitch and BB+ with S&P).