Vodafone and Orbán’s Tycoon Want Telemach Towers

The second largest owner of telecommunications towers in Europe, Vantage Towers, co-owned by Vodafone, and the investment company close to Hungarian Prime Minister 4IG are the main competitors for the purchase of United Group’s towers, Jutarnji list learns from sources in the telecom industry, as reported by Hina.

Both players declined to comment.

– We cannot comment on market rumors – said Robin Hagenmüller from Vantage Towers, the daily reports in Friday’s issue.

United Group, which owns Nova TV and N1 television in Croatia, as well as the third largest telecom operator Telemach Croatia, briefly stated that it cannot comment on such details while the sale process is ongoing.

– This is a global practice. The largest European mobile operators have long been separating infrastructure units for towers to attract investors and reduce debt levels, and American telecom companies are also opting for this step – they say at United.

The story of the sale of part of United’s business has spun in the last ten days. First, Moody’s downgraded the rating of Adriatic Midco BV, a key company within the group, from stable to negative. Then it was revealed that the total debt of the group is 4.1 billion euros and that a significant portion is due in the next two years.

Moody’s specifically proposed the separation and sale of telecommunications towers as a solution. Towers are the new big business. In November, British Vodafone generated 16.2 billion euros in just one transaction through towers.

Vodafone then sold a majority stake in Vantage Towers, the same company that is reportedly interested in United Towers. In early February, Deutsche Telekom generated 17.5 billion euros in the same way. DT sold 51 percent of its stake in GD Towers, which manages its towers in Germany and Austria.

In Croatia, however, the first information in the market was that United Group would not sell only telecommunications towers, but the entire telecom business, namely the Telemach group. Vodafone was mentioned as the most likely buyer. However, Vodafone is no longer buying in the region as it is exiting, writes Jutarnji list journalist Bernard Ivezić.