Cellnex poised to complete Italy tower buy

Cellnex received regulatory approval for an acquisition of 9,100 towers in Italy from CK Hutchison, leaving the purchase of assets in the UK the only remaining part of a multi-market set of agreements between the pair yet to be cleared.

The infrastructure company stated Italian competition regulator Autorita Garante della Concorrenza had cleared the acquisition, which it plans to complete in the coming weeks. The towers are currently being used by CK Hutchison’s WindTre operation.

However, the approval carries a condition for Cellnex to provide access at market rates to fixed wireless access operators and others in municipalities with a population of less than 35,000.

Clearance followed a competition probe into the proposal opened in April.

It is part of a series of agreements by Cellnex for CK Hutchison tower assets in Europe totalling €10 billion. Transactions in Austria, Republic of Ireland, Denmark and Sweden have already been completed, leaving only Italy and a UK deal outstanding.

The purchase of assets in the UK is currently being assessed by regulators. Cellnex said it expected to complete the remaining deal in H1 2022.

Alongside progression of its Italy buy, Cellnex announced it was set to file an application with Portuguese regulators to acquire DAS and small cell assets carved out from Altice Europe brand MEO’s tower business. Full details were not disclosed, though it added the deal involved an “investment of €209 million”.

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