Phoenix Tower International (PTI) is in talks to buy a company that manages about 3,700 wireless sites in France from Bouygues Telecom and SFR.
The Blackstone-backed wireless tower operator said it has entered exclusive negotiations with Bouygues Telecom and SFR for the potential acquisition of Bouygues and SFR’s 50:50 joint venture company Infracos.
Telecoms group Altice France said the transaction, once completed, is expected to generate approximately €480m in gross cash proceeds for its subsidiary SFR, which will then be used to reduce Altice France’s net debt.
Infracos is mainly responsible for managing a portfolio of sites, for which it holds the leases and passive infrastructure, made available to SFR and Bouygues Telecom under a hosting agreement.
PTI, which entered France in 2020, said the deal will lift its French portfolio to nearly 10,000 nationwide sites, including committed build-to-suit deployments.
Founded in 2013, PTI counts funds managed by Blackstone, Wren House, BlackRock, Grain Management and the UK’s Universities Superannuation Scheme among its investor base.
Dagan Kasavana, CEO of Phoenix Tower International, said: “This transaction would be a natural and exciting next step in our growth trajectory with strong existing partners in a market where we already have an outstanding local team.
“We are extremely proud to strengthen our presence in France and strengthen our relationships with Bouygues Telecom and SFR whereby we are facilitating their 5G rollouts and maintaining best-in-class service to their customers.”
Benoît Torloting, CEO of Bouygues Telecom, said: “This agreement reflects our commitment to strengthen our longstanding partnership with PTI and our shared dedication to developing high-quality telecommunications infrastructures in the French market in order to provide our customers with the best possible experience across the entire territory.”
Olivier Tailfer, directeur exécutif réseau, SFR, said: “This joint venture has been an important part of our strategy to invest in and expand very high-quality telecom infrastructure across France.
“Together, from 2014 to today we’ve achieved strong results in mobile network deployment. This transition marks the beginning of a new chapter of continued excellence for this part of the network and its users.”
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