Vodafone aims to raise €2.8bn in masts stock market float
Vodafone today said it is aiming to raise €2.8bn (£2.4bn) from an initial public offering of its mobile masts business later this month.
The mobile network is set to float Vantage Towers in Frankfurt on or around 18 March as it looks to cash in on its lucrative infrastructure assets.
It priced the listing at between €22.50 and €29 per share, giving the company a valuation of up to €14.7bn.
The listing would be the largest telecoms IPO since the float of Belgacom in 2014, according to Refinitiv data, although the valuation is at the low end of analyst expectations.
Vodafone today said that US infrastructure investor Digital Colony has agreed to be a cornerstone investor on the float alongside Singapore-based global equity fund RRJ.
The two firms have committed a total of €950m to the listing.
Vantage Towers chief executive Vivek Badrinath said the IPO was “moving ahead at pace”.
“Demand for data and connectivity across Europe is powering growth in the towers sector. Our superior grid and leading market positions mean we are well placed to benefit from this growth and our recent financial results highlighted the good commercial and operational momentum across the business.”
Vantage Towers operates 82,000 towers across 10 European markets and has set out plans to build a further 7,100 sites over the next five years.
Vodafone has previously said the initial public offering will help raise funds to pay down its ballooning debt pile.
Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and UBS are acting as joint global coordinators on the Vantage Towers float, while Barclays, Berenberg, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Jefferies are joint bookrunners.