Arqiva’s £2bn telecoms takeover cleared by competition watchdog
A £2bn takeover of Arqiva’s telecoms infrastructure division by Spanish rival Cellnex has been cleared by the competition watchdog.
The merger, which agreed in October, will make Cellnex the largest independent operator of mobile masts in the UK, adding roughly 7,400 sites to its portfolio.
The deal will also give the Spanish firm rights to market roughly 900 additional sites across the UK serving all four mobile operators, as well as permission to use street infrastructure as locations for key 5G sites in 14 London boroughs.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a probe into the takeover over concerns it would reduce competition both in the supply of large infrastructure such as tower masts, as well as the smaller equipment required for the rollout of 5G.
Mobile operator Three called on regulators to intervene in the deal, stating it could inflate costs and slow down efforts to bring the high-speed network to all parts of the country.
But the watchdog today cleared the deal, concluding that Cellnex continued to face competition from other mobile mast suppliers and its expansion plans in the 5G market were “modest”.
At the time of the deal Cellnex boss Tobias Martinez described the merger as a “key milestone” for his company, which now controls roughly 53,000 mobile masts across Europe.
Paul Donovan, who was appointed Arqiva chief executive earlier this week, said the company was “delighted” with the decision.
“Arqiva is now fully focused on strengthening its position as the UK’s number one broadcast and machine to machine infrastructure solutions provider, particularly at a time when these critical services are showing their value and relevance so strongly,” he said.
Hampshire-based Arqiva will retain its TV and radio towers business, which broadcasts Freeview and digital radio services across the UK.
Arqiva had planned a mammoth £6bn float on the London Stock Exchange, but scrapped the plans in 2017 and decided to split up the business instead.