Deutsche Telekom will sell 51 percent of GD Towers comprising its tower assets in Germany and Austria, to Digital Bridge and Brookfield at 17.5 billion euros enterprise value on a cash and debt free basis.
With around 800 employees, GD Towers operates more than 40,000 sites in Germany and Austria and has a successful track record in delivering new sites for its anchor tenant Telekom Deutschland and securing revenues with third party customers. The Company generated 1.1 billion euros of pro forma revenues in 2021. Pro forma adjusted EBITDA AL 2021 amounted to 640 million euros.
Both Digital Bridge and Brookfield have substantial exposure to the European towers sector. In joining forces with Deutsche Telekom, the partners will provide both expertise and long-dated capital to further refine and evolve the GD Towers strategic plans and ambitions for enhanced value creation in both the core towers business and in fast-growing adjacent segments as well as through M&A. The transaction structure enables GD Towers to pursue these value-accretive investments with a capital structure appropriate for an infrastructure business, which otherwise would be subject to the constraints of the Deutsche Telekom balance sheet.
“Deutsche Telekom once again delivers on its strategic agenda. We crystalize the value of our tower assets, thereby creating value for our shareholders,” said Tim Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom. “At the same time the deal allows us to continue improving Deutsche Telekom’s undisputed network leadership in Germany and benefit from further value upside of the towers business through our retained 49 percent stake.”
“The partnership being formed today is about building the next generation digital infrastructure champion of Europe,” said Marc Ganzi, CEO of DigitalBridge. “The combination of Deutsche Telekom’s leading mobile network and market position, alongside one of the largest real asset managers in the world in Brookfield, combined with the digital infrastructure domain expertise of DigitalBridge, creates a team of unmatched capabilities to support GD Towers as it grows to meet the evolving network demands of enterprises and consumers across Europe.”
“We’re delighted to be partnering with Deutsche Telekom and DigitalBridge to expand our presence in the European telecom infrastructure sector,” said Sam Pollock, Managing Partner at Brookfield and CEO Infrastructure. “This represents a great opportunity to invest in a highly attractive tower portfolio, with highly contracted cash flows and strong upside potential. Brookfield is already a leading global infrastructure investor, with approximately 200,000 telecom tower and rooftop sites under management globally. We hope to bring that experience and expertise to this new partnership, for the benefit of our customers in Germany, Austria and beyond.”
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