Cellnex announced that it has reached an agreement with Altice Europe and Belmont Infra Holding’s, to acquire the 100% of Portuguese telecommunications towers and sites operator OMTEL for an equivalent enterprise value of € 800 million. The acquisition comprises the roll out 400 sites in the next 4 years.
Keeping in mind the evolution of the Portuguese market and the upcoming 5G roll-out, Cellnex growth plans let expect that this build-to-suit (BTS) programme could be enhanced with 350 additional sites until 2027. The estimated investment for this build to suit plan –contracted and expected– is € 140 million.
OMTEL currently operates 3,000 sites in Portugal, which becomes the eighth country with Cellnex operations in Europe. The Portuguese company manages an attractive portfolio of sites that account for around 25% of the telecommunications towers on the Portuguese market. OMTEL’s contracts with its clients, of which the main one is Portugal Telecom (MEO), are for 20 years with additional five-year periods.
Once OMTEL is fully integrated and the new sites –again, contracted and expected– are rolled out, the estimated additional EBITDA generated for the Group will be € 90 million on a run-rate basis. The acquisition and future investments will be financed with available cash from the group and the cash flows generated by the company itself. Cellnex’s sales backlog will grow by €2.5 billion to €38.5 billion.
The timing of the operation further coincides with the imminent arrival of 5G which, as in the other markets in which Cellnex operates, will require network densification and an efficient roll-out that should allow a neutral and independent operator like Cellnex to propose an attractive solution to mobile operators both in terms of cost and speed of execution.
Tobias Martinez, CEO, Cellnex
We are also committing to consistent growth in Europe, incorporating an eighth market – which naturally extends the current geographical coverage of the seven countries in which we already operate, and in this case especially due to the proximity and operational synergies that may arise with the Group in Spain.
