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 Vantage Towers site near Bad Camberg | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Infrastructure |
| Founded | May 2020 |
| Founder | Vodafone Group |
| Headquarters | Düsseldorf, Germany |
| Number of locations | 84,600 (2024) |
| Area served |
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| Key people |
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| Revenue |  €1,075.1 million (2022/23) |
| Net income | €382.7 million (2022/23) |
| Total assets | €11,035.8 million (2022/23) |
| Owner | Oak Holdings |
| Number of employees | 711 (2022/23) |
| Website | vantagetowers |
| Footnotes / references Annual Report 2022/23 | |
Vantage Towers is a European infrastructure company headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. The company is involved in the construction, management, and leasing of towers, antenna masts, and other facilities to mobile network operators.
Previously, Vantage Towers was a subsidiary of the British telecommunications company Vodafone Group and was listed on the stock exchange from 2021 to 2023. In terms of sites and turnover, Vantage Towers is among the largest infrastructure companies in Europe.
History
In July 2019, the British Vodafone Group announced the creation of a new business unit that would include the Group's cell towers and masts. This move was part of the broader trend towards separating passive infrastructure and active network components in mobile networks. The infrastructure company was headquartered in Germany. Vantage Towers began operating in May 2020.
In 2020, Vodafone Group declared its intention to list its subsidiary on the stock exchange. The IPO took place in March 2021; approximately one-fifth of the shares were initially sold, with a total market value of €2.2 billion. The proceeds enabled the Vodafone Group to reduce its debt level. Concurrently, Vantage Towers obtained the requisite capital to facilitate its global expansion, for example in Greece.
In early 2022, preliminary indications emerged that a number of institutional investors were expressing interest in Vantage Towers. In December, the management board recommended that the acquisition offer from Oak Holdings be accepted. Oak Holdings is a joint venture of the Vodafone Group, GIP (Global Infrastructure Partners) and KKR & Co. Following the acquisition of more than 80% of Vantage Towers shares by Oak Holdings in November 2022, the company was delisted in May 2023.
Business activities
Vantage Towers currently operates 84,600 sites in ten European countries (as of January 2024). The largest markets are those of Germany, Spain and Greece. Vantage Towers holds shares in Infrastrutture Wireless Italiane (Italy) and Cornerstone (UK), yet exerts no operational influence in these entities.
The company's principal objective is to construct, operate and subsequently lease passive network infrastructure for mobile communications. This includes ground-based tower sites (GBT) and rooftop tower sites (RTT), as well as so-called smart cells for tunnels, larger buildings, and other environments. The company provides additional services, from site operation to maintenance.
Vantage Towers leases its infrastructure to telecommunications companies, energy suppliers and IoT providers. As part of this business model, competitors usually are sharing sites. In most markets, the company's customers includes all of the country's major mobile network operators. Accordingly, the company characterizes itself as a neutral host.
Notes and references
- Annual Report 2022/23 (PDF), retrieved July 24, 2024
- Calatayud, Adria (January 15, 2021), "European Telecom Towers Become Hot Assets Amid 5G Rollout", The Wall Street Journal, retrieved July 22, 2024
- Kantouar, Najat (July 22, 2024), "Vodafone Group Sells Further 10% Stake in Vantage Towers for $1.4 Billion", Wall Street Journal, retrieved July 23, 2024
- Ralph, Alex (July 27, 2019), "Vodafone to Cut Mobile Masts Loose in €18bn Spin-off", The Times, retrieved May 15, 2024
- Müller-Arnold, Benedikt (November 18, 2020), "Vodafone bringt Türme aufs Parkett", Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German), p. 31
- Rohde, Heidi (November 18, 2020), "Vantage Towers zeigt Muskeln", Börsen-Zeitung (in German), p. 7
- Fildes, Nic (March 9, 2021), "Vodafone to Raise €2.8bn via Vantage Tower IPO", Financial Times, retrieved July 23, 2024
- Papon, Kerstin (December 14, 2021), "Rekorde der Aktienkurse: Bestes Jahr für Börsengänge seit 21 Jahren", Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German), retrieved May 15, 2024
- Kowalewsky, Reinhard (March 19, 2021), "Neuer Börsenstar aus Düsseldorf", Rheinische Post (in German), p. 9
- Koutoumanos, Panagiotis (March 26, 2021), "Vantage Towers expandiert in Griechenland", Frankfurter Neue Presse (in German), retrieved May 15, 2024
- A. Daga; P. Barbaglia; A. Gonzalez (March 18, 2022), "Infra Funds Circle Vodafone for $16 Billion Vantage Towers Deal", Reuters, retrieved May 15, 2024
- Ruhkamp, Christoph (December 14, 2022), "Offerte startet für Vantage Towers", Börsen-Zeitung (in German), p. 9
- Köhler, Peter (March 21, 2023), "Oak Holdings will Vantage Towers von der Börse nehmen", Handelsblatt (in German), retrieved May 15, 2024
- Baldock, Harry (July 18, 2023), Vodafone Pockets Half a Billion Euros From Vantage Towers Sale, retrieved July 23, 2024
- Wieland, Ken (January 11, 2021), "Vodafone Bulks up Vantage Towers With Cornerstonen", TelcoTitans, retrieved July 23, 2024
- Sweney, Mark (July 26, 2019), "Vodafone to Sell Off 60,000 Mobile Masts for €20bn", The Guardian, retrieved July 23, 2024
- Morahan, George (August 2, 2022), "Obelisk To Make Vantage Towers' Infrastructure Sustainable", Business Plus, retrieved July 23, 2024
- Agnew, Richard (December 3, 2021), "1&1 Offers Challenging Maths for Vantage and Vodafone", TelcoTitans, retrieved July 23, 2024
- Le Maistre, Ray (February 15, 2021), "Vantage Towers Aims to Be '5G Superhost'", TelecomTV, retrieved July 23, 2024