- Partial sale of tower business in Germany and Austria effective February 1
- Sale of 51 percent stake in GD Towers to DigitalBridge and Brookfield for enterprise value (EV) of 17.5 billion euros
- Cash proceeds of more than 10 billion euros reduce liabilities
Deutsche Telekom completed the partial sale of its tower business in Germany and Austria, which is combined in the GD Towers unit, effective February 1, 2023. The Group had announced in July 2022 that it would sell 51 percent of GD Towers to DigitalBridge and Brookfield. With the closing of the transaction, Deutsche Telekom will receive a total of more than 10 billion euros from the buyers and GD Towers.
With the closing of the transaction, Deutsche Telekom successfully completes the process announced at the Capital Markets Day 2021 of positioning itself as best as possible for the future and enhancing the value of its tower business. GD Towers operates more than 40,000 mobile sites in Germany and Austria with around 800 employees. The company generated pro forma revenues of 1.1 billion euros in 2021. Adjusted pro forma EBITDA AL amounted to 640 million euros in 2021. The management team led by CEO Bruno Jacobfeuerborn and Chairman Thorsten Langheim will continue to manage the business. Deutsche Telekom retains 49 percent of the shares with significant minority rights and thus retains a stake in future value growth in the attractive infrastructure business. Telekom Deutschland and Magenta Austria will continue to have unrestricted access to GD Towers' passive infrastructure via long-term lease agreements.
This media information contains forward-looking statements that reflect the current views of Deutsche Telekom management with respect to future events. They are generally identified by the words “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend,” “estimate,” “aim,” “goal,” “plan,” “will,” “seek,” “outlook,” or similar expressions and include generally any information that relates to expectations or targets for revenue, adjusted EBITDA AL, or other performance measures. Forward-looking statements are based on current plans, estimates, and projections, and should therefore be considered with caution. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond Deutsche Telekom’s control. They include, for instance, the progress of Deutsche Telekom’s staff-related restructuring measures and the impact of other significant strategic or business initiatives, including acquisitions, dispositions, and business combinations. In addition, movements in exchange rates and interest rates, regulatory rulings, stronger than expected competition, technological change, litigation and regulatory developments, among other factors, may have a material adverse effect on costs and revenue development. If these or other risks and uncertainties materialize, or if the assumptions underlying any of these statements prove incorrect, Deutsche Telekom’s actual results may be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Deutsche Telekom can offer no assurance that its expectations or targets will be achieved. Without prejudice to existing obligations under capital market law, Deutsche Telekom does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements to account for new information or future events or anything else. In addition to figures prepared in accordance with IFRS, Deutsche Telekom presents alternative performance measures, e.g., EBITDA, EBITDA AL, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA AL, adjusted EBITDA margin AL, Core EBITDA, adjusted EBIT, EBIT margin, adjusted net profit/loss, adjusted earnings per share, free cash flow, free cash flow AL, gross debt, and net debt. These measures should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the information prepared in accordance with IFRS. Alternative performance measures are not subject to IFRS or any other generally accepted accounting principles. Other companies may define these terms in different ways.
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