Nordics: Cellnex contemplates selling a stake in its Nordic enterprises

Cellnex is contemplating the sale of a minority stake in its Nordic operations, which could fetch up to $1.11 billion. Reuters reported last week that Cellnex would use the earnings to pay down debt, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Reuters reported that Cellnex is collaborating with the Spanish financial advisory firm AZ Capital to gauge interest in its Swedish and Danish operations. It is anticipated that a sale will occur later this year, though not much has been formalized yet. Cellnex controls 1,576 facilities in Denmark and 2,906 in Sweden, according to the company's most recent statistics.

Recently appointed CEO Marco Patuano has stated that the telecommunications company is open to selling minority stakes to local investors. Cellnex manages over 138,000 sites in Spain, Italy, and France, and it recently acquired the remaining share of telco infrastructure company OnTower Poland it did not already own. At the end of 2022, the company completed its acquisition of CK Hutchison's UK towers business. It was part of an agreement between Cellnex and CK Hutchison in 2020 to acquire the latter's telecommunications facilities in six European nations for a total of $10.9 billion.