In the objective to offload its financial burden, passive infrastructure magnate Cellnex has contemplated selling tower assets in Austria and Ireland. This strategic initiative has been led by the CEO, March Patuano as a move toward consolidation in the European telecommunication market. In an interview with Reuters, Patuano revealed that the sale of its businesses in these regions is a serious consideration, an expansion primarily as a result of the €10 billion agreement with CK Hutchison’s European towers in the closing months of 2020.
Achieving new milestones in Austria and Ireland in early 2021, Cellnex added 1,150 and 4,500 towers respectively to its existing portfolio. However, three years later, the company has redirected its focus entirely. This evolution was spurred on by the UK part of the Hutch deal which concluded last year. The company shifted its priority to organic growth and pursuing an investment grade rating from S&P.
In an effort to chip away at its debt, Cellnex made the choice to part with a 49% stake in its Swedish and Danish businesses in a transaction with investment firm Stonepeak last September. Adding to the firm’s list of strategic sales, it decided to relinquish its Edzcom private networks to Boldyn Networks this month. Though this domain was considered a lucrative growth opportunity, the decision was made largely in favour of debt-management and securing the desired S&P rating.
The reassurance that Cellnex will continue to analyse possibilities of monetising further assets came off as no surprise following the Reuters interview with Patuano. This announcement adds further clarity on Cellnex’s approach to its restructuring.
Patuano’s insights on their financial plans and his viewpoint about the overall market and Cellnex’s role in it offered two intriguing takeaways from the interview. According to him, the company’s capital expenditure is poised to consume the entirety of the cash flow for a couple of years. Despite predicting a high capex for 2024 and 2025, Patuano projects that capex will drastically decline thereafter, leading to impressive cash generation by 2027.
The European towers space is also bound to go through a massive overhaul during the same period. Currently housing six prominent tower operators, Patuano anticipates a reduction in number. However, this doesn’t insinuate that Cellnex will be a passive player.
Patuano expressed interest in placing another bid for Deutsche Telekom’s GD Towers business, an asset that Cellnex had eyed before it was taken over by DigitalBridge and Brookfield last year. He declared that such a move would be a highly judicious use of resources once the timing is opportune, signaling that Cellnex’s prudent spending approach could be transitory. All these strategic moves point towards a future streamlined operational approach for the telecom giant.
