Neutral host powerhouse Cellnex has completed its latest European infrastructure deal, closing the €1.6 billion acquisition of Polkomtel Infrastruktura it announced earlier this year.
This deal is a bit different than some of the others the Spanish towers specialist has brokered in recent months in that it includes both passive and active infrastructure; in addition to picking up the Polish firm’s 7,000-strong towers portfolio, Cellnex also gains voice and data transmission equipment, 11,300 km of fibre backbone and fibre-to-the-tower backhaul, and a network of microwave radio links.
Although the deal consolidates Cellnex’s position as a major towers player in Poland, following the completion of the acquisition of 7,000 towers from Iliad’s Play last month, it is the active infrastructure side of this deal that is most noteworthy.
“[The transaction] exemplifies our commitment to evolving the traditional tower operator model towards an integrated telecommunications infrastructure management model, combining the operation of passive elements (towers) and active elements such as transmission equipment, radio links and fibre-to-the-tower,” said Cellnex chief executive Tobias Martinez.