Cellnex Telecom, the main independent operator of wireless telecommunications infrastructures in Europe, has reached an agreement to acquire the Telecommunications division of the English company Arqiva for GBP 2 billion (US$ 2.44 billion). The acquisition is subject to the mandatory authorizations by the competition authorities as well as other suspensive conditions.  

The estimated generation of adjusted Ebitda by these assets in 2020 will be around GBP 170 million (USD 219 million).

The agreement involves the acquisition of about 7,400 sites of ownership and the marketing rights of some 900 sites spread throughout the British territory. Following the operation, Cellnex will become the leading independent operator of wireless telecommunications infrastructure in the United Kingdom. The agreement also includes concessions for the use of urban furniture for the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure in 14 boroughs of London. This is a key factor for the expansion and necessary densification of communications networks within the framework of the 5G deployment.

The agreement with Arqiva comes after the announcement in June 2019 of the long-term strategic agreement with BT, for which Cellnex obtained the commercialization and exploitation rights of 220 high-rise towers distributed throughout the United Kingdom.

Once the Cellnex operation is closed, it will manage an approximate portfolio of 53,000 locations - including planned deployments until 2027, in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. In addition to the telecommunications towers, Cellnex has extensive experience in the management and operation of a wide variety of telecommunications infrastructures, including the Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS), the Small Cells, the optical fiber (to the antenna ), distributed computing (or Edge Computing), the internet of things (IoT) or private networks, especially for security and emergency bodies.

Cellnex has been advised by Clifford Chance (acting as legal advisor), AZ Capital and HSBC (acting as financial advisors), Price Waterhouse Coopers (financial and fiscal due diligence) and Arthur D. Little (commercial due diligence).