Cellnex Won't Rule Out More Cell-Tower Acquisitions in 2019, 2020 -CEO
June 04 2019 - 7:51AM
Dow Jones News
By Carlos Lopez Perea
MADRID (EFE Dow Jones)--Cellnex Telecom SA (CLNX.MC) won't rule
out making more acquisitions this year and next after striking 2.7
billion euros ($3.02 billion) worth of cell-tower deals with
France's Iliad (ILD.FR) and Switzerland's Salt Mobile SA last
month, Chief Executive Tobias Martinez said in an interview with
EFE-Dow Jones.
Buoyed by the recent success of its EUR1.2 billion capital
increase, which took place in March and was subscribed by 98.8% of
its shareholders, the Spanish telecoms infrastructure operator will
prioritize growth in its existing markets--Spain, France, Italy,
the Netherlands, the U.K. and Switzerland--, Mr. Martinez said,
though he didn't rule out entering new markets in the European
Union if an opportunity arises.
At the moment, big telecommunications operators are shifting
toward the externalizing of cell-tower operation by selling these
assets in order to free up cash to invest in their business or
reduce their debt. What Cellnex offers these companies isn't just
to buy the infrastructure they want to divest, but to act as a
long-term partner, helping its clients lower their operating
costs.
The key to Cellnex's success in Europe is the support it offers
to its clients in managing assets and the common goals they share,
Mr. Martinez said, adding that Europe is the Spanish company's
natural market thanks to the legal stability it offers.
Cellnex still has notable potential in the region, where it
operated 45,000 out of a total of 400,000 cell towers. According to
its chief executive, the deployment of 5G technology will be a
tailwind for Cellnex.
Commenting on press speculation that Cellnex's next target could
be the U.K. cell towers of CTIL, a joint venture between Vodafone
Group PLC (VOD.LN) and Telefonica SA (TEF.MC), Mr. Martinez said
the asset is attractive and would fit with the company's strategy,
but that he approaches the possibility of a deal with "certain
prudence" given the different possible ways in which Brexit could
still play out. If the U.K. reaches an agreement for its departure
from the EU, Brexit "shouldn't be an obstacle to invest heavily in
the U.K.," but things would be different in the case of a "hard"
Brexit, he said, as working out its implications for the country's
relationship with the bloc would take time.
Regarding the conflict between the U.S. and China's Huawei
Technologies Co., which is accused by the Trump administration of
conducting espionage for China, Mr. Martinez said he believes
decisions should be made "at the European level, not of one or two
countries," though in his opinion, "there is no evidence that the
Loch Ness monster exists." As for his company, its exposure to the
U.S.-Huawei dispute is limited, as it doesn't operate
infrastructure by the Chinese giant.
This story was translated in whole or in part from a
Spanish-language version initially published by EFE Dow Jones, a
partner of Dow Jones & Co.
Write to Carlos Lopez Perea at carlos.perea@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 04, 2019 07:36 ET (11:36 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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