Saudi Arabia bankrolls KKR-led bid for €15bn Vodafone towers business
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is helping bankroll what is set to be the winning bid for a stake in Vodafone’s €14.8bn towers business led by private equity groups KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners, according to people familiar with the matter.
The consortium, which features Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is on course to buy into one of the largest tower businesses in Europe, beating competition from Spain’s Cellnex, the people said.
Vodafone has been seeking to sell a stake in its masts business for many months after spinning out the unit early last year. The company operates 83,000 towers across 10 European countries, including the UK. Vodafone currently owns 82 per cent of the operation.
Vodafone has been under pressure over the past year after it emerged that Cevian, Europe’s largest activist investor, had built an undisclosed position and was angling for a significant shake-up of the sprawling international business, including the sale of poorly performing units.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Kaye Wiggins
