KKR et al. acquire stakes in Altice telecoms towers

In France, the Netherlands-listed telecoms operator has entered into an exclusivity agreement with KKR Infrastructure to sell a 49.99% equity stake in a new company, SFR TowerCo, which will own 10,198 sites. Altice will retain the majority stake.

The transaction gives SFR TowerCo an enterprise value of €3.6bn, or a multiple of 18x its 2017 pro forma EBITDA of €200m, Altice said in a statement.

The transaction, which will be subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to reach a close in Q4 2018. 

The winner of the Portuguese process, a smaller deal involving a 75% stake, is a consortium that includes Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Horizon Equity Partners. They will become shareholders in a new company, Towers of Portugal (ToP), which comprises the 2,961 sites currently operated by Altice Portugal. 

PT Portugal, Altice's local unit, will "reinvest to hold a 25% financial stake in ToP alongside the consortium", according to the Altice statement. Meo is the mobile brand of PT Telecom, which has since rebranded as Altice Portugal.

The transaction gives ToP an enterprise value of €660m, and a multiple of 18.9x its 2017 pro forma EBITDA of €35m.

The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2018.

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• Topics
• Infrastructure
• France
• Southern Europe
• KKR
• Morgan Stanley
• France
• Portugal