Clifford Chance advises Cellnex Telecom on the sale of its business in Austria

Clifford Chance has advised Europe’s largest operator of telecommunications towers and infrastructure Cellnex Telecom on the sale to a consortium comprising Vauban, EDF Invest and MEAG of 100% of Cellnex’s business in Austria for EUR 803 million.

Cellnex has been operating in Austria since early 2021, when it finalised the acquisition of CK Hutchison’s sites in the country as part of the agreement to acquire CK Hutchison’s infrastructure portfolio in six European countries, including Austria. Cellnex currently manages approx. 4,600 sites in the Alpine country.

The closing of the deal is subject to the corresponding regulatory approvals. This transaction will allow Cellnex to continue its announced deleveraging process and will allow to reassess its capital allocation priorities.

This is a landmark transaction in the telecommunications sector in Spain and Europe. Clifford Chance acts as the main legal advisor to Cellnex Telecom on an ongoing basis, advising on number of multijurisdictional, significant matters such as the aforementioned acquisition of CK Hutchison’s telecommunications sites in six European countries for approx. EUR 10 billion.

The cross-practice Clifford Chance team was led by Corporate / M&A partner Guillermo Guardia, together with senior associate José María Vilaseca and associate Estel Casas. The team was also formed by IP/IT counsel Juan Cuerva and Global Financial Markets counsel Felipe Font. Counsel Begoña Barrantes and associate Paula Valenciano advised on antitrust matters.

Wolf Theiss acted as local counsel to Cellnex, with a team led by Corporate / M&A partner Sarah Wared.