Cellnex will have to sell 1,000 towers to satisfy UK regulator

CellnexCellnex could bid for Deutsche Telekom towers

Renta 4 | 1-. The UK Competition regulator, the CMA, has given the green light to Cellnex’s purchase of 6,000 towers from Hutchinson in the region. The deal is subject to the Spanish firm’s sale of 1,000 sites which overlap geographically with those of Hutchinson.

2-. From what we can glean from the communication, the 1,000 sites which will be subject to being sold off correspond to part of the 9,000 which Cellnex bought from Arqiva. This divestment established by the regulator slightly improves on Cellnex’s proposal to sell 1,100 sites.

Valuation:

1-. This is positive news. On the one hand, because the number of towers Cellnex would be obliged to sell is less than the company’s own proposal. And on the other, because after this decision the regulatory risk, at least temporarily is eliminated. Whatsmore it demonstrates Cellnex’s capacity to close transactions without this reducing competition in the markets where it positions itself.

2-. No details have been revealed about the possible terms of the divestment, and we assume that they will have to negotiate with possible interested parties. Nor have there been any comments, as there were in the case of France, regarding the terms which they are considering for reinvesting the funds obtained. So we do not know if this could affect the group’s guide for 2025. That said, in any case, the impact would be very limited. Taking into account Cellnex’s growth plans announced up to 2030, we recall that the company manages a network of around 130,000 sites.

We reiterate our positive view on the stock, OVERWEIGHT, T.P 0,78 euros.