Hispasat, Cellnex up for sale
Hispasat, Cellnex up for sale
Details
Juan Fernandez Gonzalez
| 20 March 2018
The telcos Hispasat and Cellnex, which are partially owned by Abertis, are apparently not required by the Atlantia-ACS venture whose takeover bid has just been given the green light by the Spanish stock market authority.
None of the companies involved have shown an interest in keeping Abertis’ minor telecom businesses, and are looking for potential buyers for both Hispasat and Cellnex, according to an analysis note published by Expansion.
Abertis, whose cores businesses are in roads and infrastructure, is the major shareholder of Hispasat, owning over 90% of shares.
With a 34% share, it’s also the major shareholder of its former subsidiary Cellnex Telecom, which became a public, independent company in 2015. Cellnex Telecom focuses on terrestrial telecom, especially broadcasting and mobile.
Since Atlantia’s first takeover bid was made public, there has been much debate around the future of Hispasat and Cellnex, particularly taking into account the strategic importance of the satellite operator.
Now, both Atlantia’s bid and the offering by ACS’ Hochtief AG have been green lit by Spain’s Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores, as both companies are looking to share the stocks.
According to the analysis, the documents don’t reveal any specific plan to keep a stake in Hispasat or Cellnex. The sale of either of the companies is seen as a way to finance the main takeover operation.
Red Eléctrica de España, a partly state-owned corporation and sole operator of Spain’s power grid, has repeatedly been reported as the potential buyer of Hispasat’s shares.
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