UPDATE Vodafone New Zealand Limited has completed the sale of its towers to InfraRed Capital Partners and Northleaf Capital Partners for $1.7 billion, an EBITDA multiple of 33.8x. The deal includes 1,484 wholly owned towers covering over 98 percent of New Zealand’s population.
Under the terms of the deal, the new TowerCo will enter into a 20-year master services agreement with Vodafone NZ (with extension rights) providing Vodafone with access to both existing towers and a commitment from TowerCo to build at least 390 additional sites over the next 10 years.
In May 2019, Infratil and Brookfield each acquired a 49.95 percent stake in Vodafone NZ for $635.22 million. Infratil, which will maintain 20 percent ownership of the resulting TowerCo, is expected to achieve a 26.7 percent internal rate of return on its investment in Vodafone.
“We have unlocked a significant portion of the value of our original equity invested in Vodafone,” Infratil Chief Executive Jason Boyes said.
Brookfield Infrastructure Managing Director Udhay Mathialagan agreed, “This transaction is a material milestone in the execution of our strategic program to increase use of assets at Vodafone NZ, releasing capital from the network when it makes sense and conditions are supportive and through targeted partnerships around infrastructure.”
By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
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