Vodafone New Zealand sells mobile tower assets for US$1.1 billion

Vodafone New Zealand andIt is selling its cell tower assets to investment firms for $1.7 billion in New Zealand ($1.1 billion).

Along with partners Infratil and Brookfield Asset Management, Vodafone’s dormant mobile tower assets will be bought by investors InfraRed Capital Partners and Northleaf Capital Partners, which will each hold a 40% stake in the new TowerCo business. It will reinvest in Infradil to maintain the remaining 20%, according to a statement on Monday.

“We are delighted with the outcome of this process, which has attracted so much interest,” Vodafone chief executive Jason Parris said in a statement. “Infratil, InfraRed Capital Partners and Northleaf Capital are leading investors who share our vision for Aotearoa New Zealand and will help accelerate the deployment of critical infrastructure for our customers.”

Telecom companies around the world are looking for specialist investors to divest so-called passive assets such as mobile phone towers. Last week, Vodafone’s New Zealand rival Spark announced the sale of a majority stake in its tower assets to Canadian pension fund the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board for $900 million in New Zealand.

Vodafone said TowerCo will enter into a 20-year contract to provide access to new and existing towers, under the terms of the deal, which is subject to approval by the New Zealand Foreign Investment Office. Vodafone said Taverco will commit to building at least 390 additional sites over the next ten years.